


Roll Initiative

by Nighttyger, VulpesVulpes713



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura is dungeon master, College, D&D, D&D voltron, Dungeons and Dragons, Eventual Relationships, Fantasy World, Keith and Shiro are Adoptive Siblings, Keith/Lance (Voltron) Fluff, Laith, M/M, Modern AU, POV Keith (Voltron), POV Lance (Voltron), Slowburn Klance, coran helps, facebook messenger communication, klance, klance college AU, matt is there as well, minor shallura, minor shunk, relationship building, shiro just wants his character to die, slow burn?, slowburn, the campaign will be the canon universe (set in spcce), the others make it their quest to save him, voltron modern day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2018-12-15 03:25:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 25,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11797425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nighttyger/pseuds/Nighttyger, https://archiveofourown.org/users/VulpesVulpes713/pseuds/VulpesVulpes713
Summary: Keith is new to Dungeons and Dragons.He's never played. He doesn't know the rules. But that doesn't stop him from joining a weekly meet-up with his friends as they delve deep into the fantasy world woven from spaceships and robot lions, all for the sake of defeating their sworn enemy Zarkon and keeping Shiro's character alive at all costs.It's fun, he'll admit, but Keith never expected to be wrapped up in an adventure of his own along the way, and finds himself growing closer and closer to his "sworn rival" (Lance's character has a very elaborate backstory) in ways he never imagined.And though he's not proficient when it comes to dealing with emotions, both real and imagined, there comes a time when everyone must Roll Initiative.Time to put some faith in the dice.





	1. Prologue: Dungeons and Dickheads and Allura

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so excited about this fic. It's like...my fun one.
> 
> updates will be whenever I get around to writing the story (I'm pretty busy atm so don't expect one soon), but this has been fun to write so far and I can't wait to do more. 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy :)

 

Keith didn’t think there was anything more pleasant in the world than waking up to his phone buzzing obnoxiously against a desk; the sound reminiscent of a hoard of disturbed wasps hovering close to his head.

 

And by pleasant, he meant the complete and utter opposite.

 

It was the worst.

 

Especially when he rolled over onto his side to groggily reach for the device, noticing with a wince in the darkness the bright green light signalling a new message from Facebook.

 

_This better not be another dick pic from that twat Gregory. I knew I shouldn’t have accepted his friend request after matching with him on Tinder._

 

_I should really block him._

 

It wasn’t, thankfully, but Keith still groaned as he unlocked his phone, pressing the small circular notification that represented his Facebook messenger app and seeing Lance’s name pop up.

 

**Lance McClain, Hunk Garrett, +7**

_Active now_

 

_What’s this now?_

 

He clicked on the new group, made mere minutes prior and the cause behind his rude awakening, and scanned over the information.

 

**Lance, Hunk, Pidge (Katie), Allura, Nyma, Rollo, Shay, Shiro, Keith**

_Lance McClain created this group_

_You’re friends with 5 people in this group_

 

There was nothing else besides that, and Keith was about to lock his phone and roll back over to relapse into his dream, when three small dots bounced up on his screen, indicating someone typing.

 

He paused, seeing Hunk’s name show up above the bubble.

 

 **Hunk:**?

 

Keith huffed in amusement.

 

_Same._

 

And then Lance’s name showed up.

 

 **Lance:** Just wait! I had teh best idea and u guys will luv it

 **Lance:** :)

_Oh great,_ Keith thought sarcastically, but he was already re-positioning himself up on his elbows, adjusting his pillow to sit more comfortably beneath him as he waited for an explanation. But instead of bubbles popping up to show Lance typing, the group information suddenly changed, which did nothing but cause Keith’s confusion to grow.

_Lance McClain named the group Dungeons and Dickheads._

_What the actual fuck…_

Keith was about to type out just that when Hunk’s name flashed across his screen.

**Hunk:** Um...wut

**Lance:** dun dun dun!!

**Hunk:** is this D&D?

 **Hunk:** ARE WE ACTUALLY GONNA DO IT?!!?

**Lance:** you bet your beautiful boots we are

Keith stared at his phone for a moment, before letting it fall into his lap as he leaned back on his pillow, rubbing his eyes with a muffled groan.

_Pfft, count me out._

But then his phone was buzzing again, and as much as he wanted to ignore it, the green flashing light would only leave once he had cleared the notification.

And he was, admittedly, a bit curious.

Ten unread messages were waiting for him when he reopened the app.

**Pidge (Katie):** FINALLY

 **Pidge (Katie):** Hold on i’m adding my bro

_Pidge (Katie) added Matt Holt._

**Nyma:** hey guys, this is cool and all but i don’t think i can make any of the sessions

**Lance:** We haven’t even set them yet!

**Nyma:** yeah...im super busy. sorry :*

_Nyma left the group._

**Hunk:**...awks

 **Hunk:** But maybe next time don’t invite your ex, yeah?

_Rollo left the group._

**Hunk:** AND DON’T INVITE HER CURRENT BF DUDE WTF

**Lance:** wow ok rude

 **Lance:** just tryna be inclusive

Keith chuckled lightly as he read over the messages. Typical Lance.

_He’s probably still hung up over her._

_I’m pretty sure she was the one to end things in the first place._

_But that was like...weeks ago._

And, in all honesty, Keith couldn’t really blame her for wanting to leave the chat. Not only would it be awkward for everyone involved, but this was dungeons and dragons: the ultimate lonely nerd experience.

Nyma, from what Keith knew of her, would never in her _life_ willingly play. And Rollo, whoever that was, hadn’t seem all that interested either.

Keith himself was debating leaving the group, but the messages kept flowing in, so he decided that he would allow himself the entertainment of seeing Lance get razzed by the others for a few more minutes to make up for his interrupted sleep.

_Pidge (Katie) named the group Lance’s Sad Attempt To Get Back With His Ex GF._

“Oh my god Pidge,” Keith laughed to himself, seeing the three small dots hover beneath Lance’s name as he typed furiously in reply.

**Lance:** WOWOWOW

 **Lance:** DisOWNED.

_Lance removed Pidge (Katie) from the group._

**Hunk:** Savage.

_Lance named the group No Pidge Allowed._

**Hunk:** Double savage.

**Matt:** lol

_Nice addition there Matt,_ Keith scoffed, and then, because there was nothing better than teasing Lance so early in the morning, finally decided to contribute to the conversation.

_You added Pidge (Katie)._

**Lance:** KEITH YOU TRAITOR

**Pidge (Katie):** i’M BACK FUCKERS

 **Pidge (Katie):** [sent a gif](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRQkA9h7U-HwAl_nMw6fK3o5JXNuaRTn1a3AEB6J59Kb0kvw_4q9p2Qw-XS)

**Matt:** woah language or I’m telling mom

**Pidge (Katie):** This is my kingdom now peasant. I added you. I OWN you.

**Matt:** this was a mistake.

**Hunk:** oooo sibling rivalry

_Lance set the nickname for Keith Kogane to I Only Added You Because Allura Said So._

Keith snorted, quickly going to the settings of the chat and clicking on Lance’s name, where he typed out his comeback.

_You set the nickname for Lance McClain to I Use D &D To Try And Get Girls _

**Allura:** Wow. Lance I asked you to do one thing and I see this mess.

 **Allura:** [sent a gif](https://media.giphy.com/media/nLhdSinRtaL2E/giphy.gif)

**Hunk:** lol me.

**I Use D &D To Try And Get Girls: **Allura I tried! There being mean to me!

_Nice spelling._

He quickly pointed out the error, and smirked as several more messages popped up showing similar replies.

**I Only Added You Because Allura Said So:** *They’re

**Pidge (Katie):** they’re**

**Matt:** Their*

 **Matt:** fuck

 **Matt:** Theur

 **Matt:** THEYR

 **Matt:** They. Are.

**Pidge (Katie):** don’t hurt yourself.

_Pidge (Katie) set the nickname for Matt Holt to I Can’t Spell._

**I Can’t Spell:** That’s it I’m telling mom

**Pidge (Katie):** That you can’t spell? Go for it. I’m sure she already knows.

_I Can’t Spell set the nickname for Pidge (Katie) Holt to Dora Winifred (DW)._

**I Use D &D To Try And Get Girls: **LAWL

**Hunk:** I can see it

Keith frowned, not understanding the reference. He could have googled it sure, but it was easier to just ask the others and hope the ridicule that followed wouldn’t be too extreme.

**I Only Added You Because Allura Said So:** Who is that

Right away there was a flurry of replies, and Keith chastised himself for even bothering to ask.

**I Use D &D To Try And Get Girls: **YOU DON’T KNOW?!

 **I Use D &D To Try And Get Girls: **HAVE YOU NEVER WATCHED ARTHUR!?

**Hunk:** She’s the little sister of the aardvark guy from that kids show

_The what._

**I Use D &D To Try And Get Girls: **ITS MORE THAN A KIDS SHOW HUNK ITS ART

**Hunk:**...right.

**Dora Winifred (DW):** DW is awesome I’ll take it

**I Can’t Spell:** crap.

**Allura:** Guys! My phone is blowing up! I’m going to have to mute notifications if you keep this up!

 **Allura:** Also I can’t tell who is who anymore. Change the names back.

**I Use D &D To Try And Get Girls: **Keith started it

**I Only Added You Because Allura Said So:** Pretty sure that was you.

_Allura set the nickname for I Use D &D To Try And Get Girls to Lance. _

_Allura set the nickname for I Only Added You Because Allura Said So to Keith._

_Allura set the nickname for I Can’t Spell to Matt._

_Allura set the nickname for Dora Winifred (DW) to Pidge._

**Allura:** There.

**Lance:** pfft. Lame.

**Allura:** Lance, please explain the purpose of this group. Otherwise I’ll make a new one and not invite you to it.

**Pidge:** Please do

_Lance named the group Dungeons and Dickheads._

**Allura:** No.

_Lance named the group Dungeons and Dickheads and Allura._

**Allura:**...fine.

**Hunk:** Do we all get a say or…

**Pidge:** we don’t need to explain it right? We’ll just meet up and play some D&D

**Lance:** yeah. Let’s say this friday? 7?

 **Lance:** does that work 4 every1?

**Hunk:** Why would you abbreviate that?

**Pidge:** yeah I can do that

**Matt:** I guess, but only if Shiro comes

**Pidge:** yeah, where is Shiro

 **Pidge:** Keith?

It was a good question really. It was still early in the morning, so his brother could either be in bed or at the coffee shop down the street from their apartment. Keith wondered if his phone was on silent or something, because there was no other way for him to be able to ignore this conversation for as long as he had.

He typed out a response.

**Keith:** no idea.

_Lance set the nickname for Keith to Useless._

**Allura:** Lance.

There was a pause, and then:

_Lance set the nickname for Useless to Useless Keith._

**Allura:** [sent a gif](http://gif-finder.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Steve-Carell-Facepalm.gif)

 

 **Hunk:** So does friday work for everyone?

**Pidge:** yep

**Matt:** sure

**Lance:** My place?

**Hunk:** Ok. Keith, can you make it?

_Uhh…._

Keith’s fingers hovered over the virtual keyboard on the screen of his phone. He had been about to type in two letters signifying his decline of the offer, but something in him made him hesitate.

He had never played Dungeons and Dragons before, so he would be a complete noob at the game. And he didn’t want to hold the others back in their experience by asking too many questions about things that should be fairly obvious.

But, on the other hand, these were his friends. Good friends. And they had invited him to the group so…

_Well, Lance said he only added me because of Allura…_

_And she probably only said that to get Shiro to come._

_Maybe I should just leave the group._

But before he could do anything of the sort, another message popped up.

**Lance:** He doesn’t have a choice. We need a fighter class.

_A...what?_

And before he could think much of it, he was quickly tapping out a response and pressing send.

**Useless Keith:** Idk how to play.

_Why did I admit that?_

It would have been easier to simply state that he didn’t _want_ to play. But this? This reply made it seem like he was interested, if a little hesitant.

Which he was, in a way…

But that was a realization he had only just come to comprehend, and after a moment or two longer of pondering it, Keith made a decision.

_Yeah, I do wanna play D &D. _

There were several new replies waiting for him as he glanced back down at his phone.

**Hunk:** No worries, I’ve only played a few times so I’ll need to be refreshed on the rules as well.

**Pidge:** I can help teach

**Matt:** she will cheat don’t trust her

**Pidge:** you can’t cheat in D &D!

**Hunk:** Yeah you can.

**Lance:** its called weighted dies and filthy lies

Keith frowned as he read through the argument seemingly unfolding before him, not understanding any of what was being said.

**Allura:** There will be no cheating. And Keith, I’ll explain the rules properly in person. It’s too complicated on here and I have to go to work soon.

**Lance:** So we should make the meet time earlier then? Like 5?

**Allura:** No, 7 works for me.

**Lance:** :)

 **Lance:** Alirght coooool ill see u losers later

**Hunk:** Friday right?

**Lance:** yeppo

**Hunk:** Sweet.

**Pidge:** Are we picking characters then or should we do that beforehand?

**Allura:** I have something special in mind so just byod

_Byod?_

But Lance was already explaining before Keith could even ask.

**Lance:** it means bring ur own dice Keithy boy

_Keithy boy? Where did that come from?_

But he was grateful to Lance for explaining at least. Lord knows he’ll be doing more of that come Friday.

**Lance:** I have an extra set you can use if u want

_That’s nice of him…_

**Useless Keith:** ok

Lance’s reply was quick, the dots bouncing happily as he typed, and Keith chuckled as the message came through.

**Lance:** wow, when a man offers u his dice he expects a more gracious answer than ‘ok’

Keith wasn’t sure if he was joking or not, but then again, this was Lance. He tended to thrive in the dramatic, so Keith let his reply border on snarky.

**Useless Keith:** they probs suck

**Lance:** wOOWW okaayy

_Lance set the nickname for Useless Keith to Rude Keith._

**Hunk:** R.I.P.

**Pidge:** never insult another players dice

**Matt:** first rule of d &d

Keith laughed, still in the dark about what any of them were referring to, and why dice were such a big deal, but finding himself already looking forward to their first meeting. Lance’s name popped up on his screen again, and Keith nearly choked when he read the message.

**Lance:** nah it’s cool. they were low rollers anyways. I’ve never gotten more shitty numbers in all my life

_What?!_

His fingers flew across the keyboard.

**Rude Keith:** SEE?!

 **Rude Keith:** I knew it!

**Hunk:** Harsh bro.

**Pidge:** lololol

_You set the nickname for Lance to Greasy McDonalds Fry Pidge Found in Hunks Car._

**Greasy McDonalds Fry Pidge Found in Hunks Car:** GROSS

**Hunk:** wait...when was that?!

**Allura:** Ok guys I’m muting you if this keeps up. My phone is having an aneurism.

**Greasy McDonalds Fry Pidge Found in Hunks Car:** look what Keith called me!

**Allura:** Accurate.

**Pidge:** get rekt XD

**Matt:** And the funeral will be held today at noon

**Greasy McDonalds Fry Pidge Found in Hunks Car:** none of u are invited.

**Hunk:** aw, not even me?

**Greasy McDonalds Fry Pidge Found in Hunks Car:** ….only Hunk

**Hunk:** Yay :)

**Allura:** Ok for real I’m muting this. See you all Friday.

**Greasy McDonalds Fry Pidge Found in Hunks Car:** good riddance

**Allura:** I can still read the messages fry boy.

**Greasy McDonalds Fry Pidge Found in Hunks Car:** :0

**Pidge:** FRY BOY LOLOL

**Greasy McDonalds Fry Pidge Found in Hunks Car:** I hate literally all of u.

**Hunk:** You love us. Otherwise you wouldn’t have made this group :)

**Greasy McDonalds Fry Pidge Found in Hunks Car:** im regretting my decision

**Matt:** as a truce I’ll bring doritos on friday, ok?

**Greasy McDonalds Fry Pidge Found in Hunks Car:** ….

 **Greasy McDonalds Fry Pidge Found in Hunks Car:** zesty flavour?

**Matt:** oh gross those are the worst!

**Hunk:** Don’t bother arguing with him Matt. I’ve tried, and it’s a lost cause.

**Greasy McDonalds Fry Pidge Found in Hunks Car:** VIVA LA ZESTY

**Matt:** ugh fine. I’ll bring the nasty flavour for his majesty, and the rest of us can have decent chips.

**Greasy McDonalds Fry Pidge Found in Hunks Car:** VIVA LA ZESTY DUCK U

 **Greasy McDonalds Fry Pidge Found in Hunks Car:** FUCK!** LEMME SWEAR CURSED PHONE

**Matt:** *blocked*

**Hunk:** Ok, well I’ll see you guys in class. I gotta go shower. TTYL!

**Greasy McDonalds Fry Pidge Found in Hunks Car:** friday at 7! My place! Byod!

 **Greasy McDonalds Fry Pidge Found in Hunks Car:** and Keith u better show up! Fighter class!

Keith hadn’t stopped smiling throughout the entire exchange, but upon reading that last message from Lance, he felt it transition into a wide grin.

_Oh, I’ll be there._

And he meant it. Sure, maybe it was nerdy, but these were his friends, and even if the game turned out to be terrible, hanging out with this group of people never was.

And, to be completely honest, Keith was excited.

Where he had been previously unimpressed with having been woken up by the alert of the formation of new group, he was now jumping out of bed with renewed vigour.

_This will be fun,_ he told himself as he changed out of his pajamas and ran a comb through his unruly hair. His shift didn’t start until later in the afternoon, but he was fully awake now, and had time to work on other projects.

Like his bike.

Or his artwork.

Maybe both.

Shiro wasn’t in his room when Keith walked passed it into the kitchen, which left the only other possibility of his whereabouts being the coffee shop.

_I should ask him to get me a mocha while he’s there._

But as Keith brought out his phone out again, he saw that familiar green light notifying him of an unopened Facebook message, and groaned internally as he unlocked the screen to read it.

Where he had been expecting another reply from one of the other members of the group however, there was a new name above the small grey speech bubble, containing only two words.

It wasn't much at all, but had Keith guffawing loudly as he imagined the look the person who had typed it would be wearing as they finally checked their phone.

It was a look he knew all too well. One he would likely see very soon.

**Shiro:** Why me.

Keith had to mute his notifications after that. ****


	2. RIP to Matt Holt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang meets up for their first session of DnD. Lance loses his milk, Matt brings the chips, and Shiro regrets what he said about Coran.
> 
> Allura will make sure they all pay for that one.

 

Lance’s apartment was as clean as he’d ever seen it.

 

In fact, he was so proud of his work in tidying it up that he sent several photos of every room to his mamma, who responded to each with a paragraph gushing about how amazing he was.

 

He was in the middle of typing out several heart emojis in reply when a message from Facebook popped up on his screen.

 

Lance ignored it at first, since his mother took priority always, and finished sending his text to her before flopping down on his couch and opening the app.

 

 **Hunk:** I’m coming over now cuz I’m bored.

 

Lance snickered as his fingers zoomed across the keyboard, not even needing to glance down at the letters as he sent out a reply.

 

 **Greasy McDonalds Fry Pidge Found in Hunks Car:** eager are we? ;)

 

 **Hunk:** oh god I forgot about that lol

 

Lance paused, halfway finished writing out another sentence as Hunk’s message came through. He quickly deleted what he had in favour of a single character.

 

 **Greasy McDonalds Fry Pidge Found in Hunks Car:**?

 

Three dots jumped below Hunk’s name, and then his explanation appeared.

 

 **Hunk:** Your nickname

 

Lance frowned at his phone, not understanding what Hunk meant. He hadn’t checked in with the group since making it, which was five days ago now, and had to search through the settings to see what Hunk meant. It didn’t take him long to figure it out.

 

 **Greasy McDonalds Fry Pidge Found in Hunks Car:** Ugh Keith

 

He groaned to himself as he recalled the atrocious name Keith had given him, but there was also a hint of a smile playing at his lips.

 

_Who knew Keith had a sense of humour?_

 

_Even if it was at my expense…_

 

Still, Lance couldn’t allow the boy the satisfaction of winning the name war, and hastily changed it to something more satisfactory.

 

_You set your nickname to The Hot One._

 

 **The Hot One:** this captures my essence much better

 

 **Hunk:** oh definitely

 **Hunk:** what would mine be?

 

Lance didn’t even have to think before changing the settings once again.

 

_You set the nickname for Hunk to The Pure One._

 

 **The Pure One:** Pure?

 

 **The Hot One:** Yeah man, you wholesome as 12 grain bread

 

 **The Pure One:** I regret asking..

 

 **Pidge:** Matt and I will be there soon. He’s keeping true to his word about the chips

 

Lance sat up as he saw this, cheering internally at the idea of free snacks.

 

 **The Hot One:** YUSSS

 **The Hot One:** Can you guys grab some pop as well? All I have is milk and water

 **The Hot One:** the milk is old and the water is warm

 

Which was true. As clean as his apartment was, Lance had yet to go on a proper grocery haul, especially after the week he’d had. The first round of midterms for school had just finished, which was why he had splurged and went ahead with forming a proper D&D group in the first place.

 

They all needed a bit of a break, he, Hunk and Pidge at least, and what better way to unwind than starting a campaign with some of his closest friends?

 

 **The Pure One:** wow wait until I tell your mother.

 

Lance nearly choked on his own spit as he read over Hunk’s message. She would _flip_ if she found out he had been surviving off oatmeal and crackers for the past few days.

 

 **The Hot One:** dON’T YOU DARE

 

 **The Pure One:** Make my name cooler and I’ll maybe reconsider.

 

Lance didn’t hesitate.

 

_You set the nickname for The Pure One to Hunk the Bestest Boy in the Whole World._

 

 **Hunk the Bestest Boy in the Whole World:** Aweh!

 

 **The Hot One:** ;)

 **The Hot One:** Though it loses some of the credibility after blackmailing me like that

 

_Matt set the nickname for Hunk the Bestest Boy in the Whole World to Hunk the okayest boy in the world._

 

 **Hunk the okayest boy in the world:** Um ok that was hurtful...

 

_Pidge set the nickname for Hunk the okayest boy in the world to Hunk the boy in the world._

 

 **Hunk the boy in the world:** What is this, Holt tag team bullying!?

 

_Rude Keith set the nickname for Hunk the boy in the world to Hunk the Boy._

 

 **Hunk the Boy:** Keith you too?!

 **Hunk the Boy:** [sent a gif](https://media.giphy.com/media/YE12BScdZJLTG/giphy.gif)

Lance had been laughing to himself as he read over the exchange, but downright snorted at Keith’s addition; standing up from the couch and wandering into his room to change into more comfortable clothing before everyone arrived. He tossed his phone onto his bed and shook his head with a light chuckle as he searched for his sweatpants.

 

_Keith at it again with the humour._

 

It was unexpected really. Lance had only known Keith for a couple of months now; having been introduced by Pidge, who knew him through Matt, who was close friends with Shiro. It was a very roundabout way of meeting someone, but Lance hadn’t cared, so long as his friend group was expanding.

 

And from what Pidge had said, Keith was a pretty chill dude.

 

So Lance had invited along Hunk when she suggested they all meet, figuring this new guy would fit in great with them already, and all four of them made plans to hang out at a coffee shop on their campus.

 

It was supposed to be fun; but then Lance had seen who Pidge had brought, and things had sort of gone downhill.

 

Lance recalled the events leading up to that first meeting as he searched for his pants.

 

They were right on time, which was rare for them, and Lance had been proud of his punctuality as he and Hunk made their way to the designated place.

 

He remembered feeling excited: meeting new people tended to have that effect on him.

 

But it hadn’t lasted long.

 

“You’ve _got_ to be kidding me,” he cursed, pulling on Hunk’s arm to slow him as they saw Pidge sitting at one of the tables with the stranger.

 

Only, it wasn’t a stranger. Lance _knew_ this guy. He recognized his face immediately, and there was no denying that ridiculous hairstyle that no one in their right mind would be caught dead sporting in this day and age.

 

It was _him._

 

“What-” Hunk started in question to Lance’s sudden odd behaviour, but Lance was quicker.

 

“I know that guy,” he hissed, pulling Hunk passed the coffee shop window and down a hallway so they were out of sight. Hunk watched him with concern.

 

“Who? Pidge’s friend?”

 

Lance nodded, glancing back down in the direction of the cafe to ensure they hadn’t been spotted.

 

“He’s the one I was telling you about! Remember? The _guy!”_

 

Hunk frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.

 

“You’ll have to narrow it down. You have a pretty long list of _guys_ and I’m beginning to lose track.”

 

Lance huffed, but did as he was asked.

 

“The one Prof Jerkwad openly compared me to in front of the entire Robotics class. And then _again_ in Physics. He’s _that_ guy!”

 

Hunk’s expression grew knowing as Lance explained, understanding right away both the nickname they had given Professor Iverson as well as who _that guy_ was. And it wasn’t a surprise that he did, seeing as Lance had complained about him enough since the beginning of the semester, even without knowing his name.

 

“Are you sure?” he asked, and Lance nodded.

 

“I saw him in between classes when I was still in basic engineering, and after I was granted his spot in the program I wanted, and stupid _Iverson_ made a fool out of me on my first day, I Googled him.”

 

Where anyone else would have been shocked to hear such a confession, Hunk simply nodded, knowing that Lance was an expert in tracking people down. It was a skill he utilized whenever he wanted to know the names of his crushes, or else, in this case, rivals.   

 

“Well, darn.”

 

Lance gaped over at his best friend.

 

“That’s all I get!? _‘Well darn’?_! C’mon Hunk, what am I supposed to do now!”

 

Hunk placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly, before dragging him back out into the main hall and towards the coffee shop.

 

“You go in, say hi, and be your usual charming self.”

 

Lance, who had been fighting against the hold, doubled his efforts as the shop came into view once again, and with it the boy Lance had been struggling to live up to all year.

 

“What?! Hunk this guy is the _worst!_ He’s made my first semester in my dream program a living _hell_ because he was so freaking perfect in everything and I’m _not!_ I can’t just go in there and be myself when _he’s_ the one making my life so hard!”

 

Hunk stopped, meaning Lance did as well, and looked him in the eyes.

 

“Lance, you can’t blame this guy for what Iverson said or did. Sure, you took his spot in the program when he dropped out, but that doesn’t mean you have to _be_ him. Just,” he sighed, glancing back towards the cafe. “Give him a chance, ok? Besides, Pidge seems to like him, and you know how particular she is about people.”

 

“But-”

 

“And if he’s a really awful person, then we’ll leave. Ok?”

 

Lance was still hesitant, but Hunk knew how to calm him down.

 

“If he’s a total jerk, and you really don’t like him at all, then I’ll ‘accidently’ spill my hot chocolate on a very _sensitive_ area.”

 

Lance hadn’t been able to withhold his laughter at that, and finally relented.

 

“That would be a waste of perfectly good hot chocolate,” he chuckled, allowing Hunk to steer them back towards the coffee shop.

 

“Maybe so, but your honour is worth it.”

 

“My honour? Why Hunk, I’m _flattered!”_

 

They entered the shop giggling, and sat down with Pidge after placing their orders. She hadn’t wasted any time getting down to the introductions.

 

“Wow, _finally_!” she drawled, before turning to her friend. “This is Keith. Keith,” she gestured over to them, “Hunk and Lance.”

 

“Hey,” Hunk said pleasantly, extending a hand for Keith to shake. He took it after a moment of hesitation, before turning over to Lance, expecting the same greeting.

 

But Lance hadn’t been able to do it. His hands had remained firmly in his pockets as he took his seat next to Pidge, farthest from the boy.

 

Keith watched him intently, hand hovering over the table for an awkward moment before he realized Lance had no intention of shaking it.

 

Lance almost felt bad, but then the boy had rolled his eyes and exchanged a pointed look with Pidge, before taking a sip of his own drink.

 

_Woah, what was with that?_

 

There was a beat of silence, and then Hunk, thankfully, broke it.

 

“Um, so Keith,” he said, turning towards him. “You used to go here, right?”

 

_Hunk what?! Don’t bring that up!_

 

But Lance knew where his friend was going with the conversation; where he hoped to take it at least, and was not impressed.

 

_Friends OFF._

 

“Yeah,” was all Keith supplied, leaving Pidge to fill in the blanks.

 

“Keith was in the same program as all of us. We met when I was picking up Matt from Shiro’s place, which of course led to a Mario Kart battle, and Keith kicked all of our asses. I’ve never seen anyone master Rainbow Road as well as him.”

 

Lance got the sense that Pidge was attempting to redirect the conversation away from Keith’s past at the school, which was kind of her, but inadvertently sparked a curiosity in him that was difficult to extinguish.

 

So instead he fanned it.

 

“Why’d you leave?” he asked suddenly, cringing internally at the hard edge his voice had taken. He hadn’t meant to come across as rude, but this was the guy Iverson had been constantly comparing him to! The guy Lance had been working so hard to live up to, and he hadn’t even known his name prior to this meeting.

 

And no matter what Hunk said, Keith was everything Lance was supposed to be; what the _school_ thought he should be.

 

He wanted to know more about why that was the case.

 

“Reasons,” Keith replied, just as curtly, and Lance scowled.

 

“Care to elaborate?”

 

“Not really any of your business.”

 

_Oh I beg to differ._

 

But Hunk interjected before he could say as much.

 

“Oh our coffee is ready! Lance can you help me get it please?”

 

Lance raised an eyebrow over at him.

 

“It’s two coffees-” he trailed off as he noticed the look Hunk was giving him, and sighed as he stood, knowing what was to come. “Fine, yeah.”

 

Sure enough, as soon as they were out of earshot of the table, Hunk whirled.

 

“What’s going on! You’re being sort of a jerk…”

 

“Me?! He’s the one being difficult! All I did was ask a simple question!”

 

Hunk placed his hands at his hips and frowned.

 

“First of all, you completely ignored his hand when he offered it to you, which I know your mamma taught you better than that, and second,” he lowered his voice and leaned forward. “Dude, you can’t just ask people why they dropped out. What if it’s super personal?”

 

Lance huffed, crossing his arms and glaring down at the floor.

 

But he didn’t have an explanation. He knew he was being rude; knew that he was acting out. And deep down he knew that he shouldn’t be taking his anger out on Keith. It wasn’t _his_ fault that Lance was constantly harassed by his teachers, not really. If anything, Keith was the only reason Lance had made it into the aerospace engineering program to begin with. The spots for that class filled up quickly, and acceptance was difficult to achieve. Lance had just barely missed the initial deadline, and learning he had been granted a seat after Keith’s leaving had been a miracle.

 

And then he had been publicly humiliated as Iverson ragged him out in front of a class full of strangers, save for Hunk and Pidge, informing everyone that he had only gotten in because the top of their class had left.

 

He was only there because of the mistake of another, and Lance hadn’t been allowed to forget that fact.

 

So yeah, maybe he held a little animosity towards the guy with the mullet sitting a few tables away. Could anyone really fault him for that?

 

Apparently yes.

 

“Just,” Hunk sighed, grabbing their coffees from off the counter. “Just try. You guys probably have a lot in common. And if not, then hey, at least you can say you did your best.”

 

Lance nibbled on the inside of his cheek as he considered Hunk’s words, before groaning loudly and taking his coffee from Hunk’s hand.

 

“Alright fiiinnne,” he whined, turning towards the small table where the sugar and napkins were, and removing the lid of his drink. “But only so that I can say ‘I told you so’ later.”

 

He proceeded to dump a questionable amount of honey into his beverage, seeing Hunk’s look of disgust as he did, and shot him a wink.

 

“What? I like it sweet,” he shrugged as Hunk cringed, turning back towards Pidge and her friend.

 

“So do the diabetes fairies.”

 

“Pretty sure that’s not how it works.”

 

“Pretty sure it is,” Hunk shot back, a teasing tone in his voice, and together they rejoined the group.

 

Pidge eyed them both disapprovingly as they sat back down, her glare sending goosebumps up Lance’s arms, but he ignored the look, instead turning back towards Keith and exhaling through his nose.

 

_I’ll try._

 

“Sorry about that,” he said, startling everyone at their table. Hunk was the first to recover, and gave him a sly thumbs up as he went on. “I was low on caffeine.” He held up his cup. “Better now.”

 

Keith watched him for a moment longer, as if deciding if Lance’s reasoning was legitimate or not, before nodding.

 

“S’alright.”

 

And then, because Lance knew Hunk was right and he shouldn’t hold a grudge against a guy he barely knew over something out of his control, he slipped into an easy grin, leaning back in his chair and raising an eyebrow towards Keith.

 

“So, Rainbow Road eh?”

 

Lance smiled to himself as he recalled how the rest of that meeting went. Conversation had flowed steadily afterwards, considering everyone had had an opinion when it came to Mario Kart, and when they had left the coffee shop, Lance had decided that he would give Keith a chance.

 

It was only fair, and the guy _had_ relaxed more as they had all sat and drank their coffees; making comments here and there and occasionally gracing them all with a smile.

 

And yeah, maybe Lance had admitted that, from a strictly physical sense, Keith was attractive.

 

It was simply something he had noticed, could acknowledge, and maybe, just maybe, admire a bit.

 

Personality wise he had been on the fence, still was, to a certain extent. Even after knowing him for a few months, Lance still wasn’t entirely sure he and Keith would ever be as close of friends as he was with the others, but there was no denying how good the guy had looked in the natural lighting of the cafe, mullet or not.

 

But this... _this_ Keith who joked and played along with his teasing, even if it was just on Facebook messenger, was new.

 

Even after their groups had slowly merged and begun hanging out more frequently, Lance had never seen Keith act so comfortable around them, except with maybe Pidge. Up until a few days ago, Lance had suspected the boy lacked a sense of humour altogether, since he hardly acknowledged any of Lance’s jests, and always groaned at his puns.

 

But, then again, who didn’t groan at his puns.

 

Still though, it was different, and to be completely honest, it was drastically changing Lance’s opinion of the boy.

 

_I should make an effort to talk to him more often..._

 

And what better way to get to know someone than through Dungeons and Dragons?

 

Lance eagerly retrieved his phone after changing, and returned to the living room as he unlocked the screen.

 

_Twenty-three new messages?!_

 

_Now I know how Allura felt. Geesh._

 

 **Matt:** that sounds like a rapper name

 **Matt:** “Hunk the Boy! See him live at the Altea this saturday night!”

 

 **Pidge:** Matt quit texting and come pick me up already!

 

 **Matt:** Maybe I’ll just leave you at school and play D &D without you

 

 **Pidge:** RUDE

 **Pidge:** I’ll just get Shiro to pick me up if you’re gonna be like that

 

 **Matt:** pfft good luck. Shiro doesn’t respond to texts.

 

 **Rude Keith:** It’s true. He doesn’t.

 

 **Pidge:** Keith! Get your bro to pick me up since mine sucks!

 

 **Rude Keith:** Like he’d answer me.

 

 **Matt:** yo Shiro! Unmute us you fart!

 

 **Rude Keith:** He never muted the group in the first place. He doesn’t know how.

 

 **Pidge:** LOLOLOLOLOL

 

 **Rude Keith:** Yeah, he tried to get me to show him, but it was funnier to watch him curse every time his phone buzzed.

 **Rude Keith:** He eventually just turned it off and ignored me for the rest of the day.

 

 **Matt:** Shiro you noob. How can you be training to be an astronaut and not know how to mute facebook?

 

 **Pidge:** Rocket science is easy for him, but FB will always remain a mystery

 **Pidge:** Is he coming tonight btw? Are you?

 

 **Rude Keith:** Maybe.

 

 **Hunk the Boy:** Keith I’ll only forgive you if you come tonight!

 

 **Rude Keith:** It’s only 5:34...

 

 **Hunk the Boy:** Your point?

 

 **Rude Keith:** Why are you guys all going early? I thought Lance said 7...

 

Lance grinned as he read over the messages; Keith’s question the most recent update. He did the honours of tapping out a reply.

 

 **The Hot One:** Hunk is bored and the H’s are bringing food. You can come whenever tho

 

 **Rude Keith:** Oh...should I be bringing anything?

 

_That’s considerate of him to ask…_

 

 **The Hot One:** Just urself and ur bro

 

He didn’t have to wait long for Keith’s response.

 

 **Rude Keith:** Oh great. I get the hardest task then.

 

_Oh my god is that sass?!_

 

Lance was about to answer when a ringing sounded from the panel on the wall, signifying someone at the front door of his apartment complex. He jumped up to buzz in his guest, and exactly twenty-one seconds later Hunk could be seen through his peephole.

 

Lance opened the door without waiting for his bestie to knock.

 

“You rang?” he said, waving a hand inside his apartment to welcome Hunk in. “Welcome to my humble abode.”

 

Hunk glanced around the room, nodding to himself as he appraised the recently cleaned space.

 

“Wow, I hardly recognize it. Who knew you had wood flooring in here.”

 

Lance huffed, but he couldn’t exactly deny Hunk’s observation. His place _had_ been a disaster zone for a long while.

 

“Wood flooring and so much more. What’s mine is yours.”

 

Hunk kicked off his shoes and followed Lance inside.

 

“Nuh uh. That stale milk is yours, and yours alone.”

 

“What! Hunk he needs two parents! It’s only right!” Lance fired back, and saw the other boy roll his eyes playfully.

 

“I don’t recall ever being consulted about this. And I am _not_ paying child support.”

 

“Shhh not so loud!” Lance ran ahead of him into the kitchen, throwing his body in front of the refrigerator protectively. “He might hear you!”

 

“With the amount of bacteria probably growing in it? I have no doubt,” Hunk shot back, and Lance scoffed.

 

“How dare you insult my son! My boy!” He placed a hand on the fridge door and cooed softly into the handle. “Don’t listen to him Cow Juice, you’re beautiful in all your lumpy glory.”

 

Hunk made a gagging noise, leaving Lance alone in the kitchen as he moved to sit at the table.

 

“Cow Juice? That’s disgusting. And don’t even get me started on ‘lumpy’.”

 

Lance moved to join him, taking the seat at the head of the table and throwing his legs up on it.

 

“You have a problem with the way I live my life?”

 

“Me? No. But your mother might…” Hunk trailed off as he took his phone from out of his pocket, and Lance made to grab for it. Hunk’s threats weren’t always serious, but Lance wasn’t about to take a risk that involved his mother finding out about milk that’s been in his fridge for nearly a month past its due date.

 

He wasn’t quick enough in his efforts though, and Hunk lifted the phone up into the air and out of his reach.

 

“Go flush it down the toilet or something. You’re going to end up poisoning yourself at this rate.”

 

Lance let his arms drop heavily to the table surface and groaned.

 

“Geez, I already _have_ a mom. I don’t need two.” His head shot up, seeing Hunk’s eyebrows rise knowingly on his forehead, and quickly amended. “Not that there’s anything wrong with having two moms. And your’s are lovely ladies who are probably fantastic mothers. Well, not _probably,_ more like _are._ You moms are great. They-”

 

“Alright quit brown nosing you weirdo. I’m not offended,” Hunk interrupted, putting an end to Lance’s ramblings. “And you can’t blame me for taking after them. I’m the mom friend, remember? In more than one way.” He chuckled at his own joke, and Lance cracked a smile as he settled back in his seat, taking out his phone again and seeing a new collection of unread messages from _Dungeons and Dickheads and Allura._

 

Hunk did the same.

 

“So the Holt’s are coming over soon then?” he asked, and Lance nodded, electing to ignore the texts for the time being.

 

“Apparently. I guess Pidge is still at the school and Matt is getting us snacks. I haven’t texted Allura yet, but I’m guessing her phone will be off as she teaches her lab.”

 

“When does that end?”

 

Lance hummed as he thought.

 

“Uh...like six thirtyish I think? I don’t know, but she said seven works so I’m guessing she’ll be here then.”

 

“You should get her to convince Shiro to come as well,” Hunk suggested, and Lance was reminded of Keith’s sarcastic remark that he had yet to respond to. He turned his attention back to his phone as he answered his friend.

 

“Maybe, but you know how she gets. And Shiro is no better. Honestly, those two were meant for each other.” He unlocked his screen and tapped on the messenger icon, exhaling in a huff as he was forced to scroll up quite a ways to where he had left off.

 

“Yeah,” Hunk agreed, and seeing Lance’s eyebrows rise in shock as he scrolled through his own phone, added: “I’m so glad my phone is on silent. Between Pidge and Matt you could write a novel.”

 

“And Keith apparently,” Lance commented, seeing the nickname he had set for the boy show up several times as he finally reached familiar territory. He read over the new messages, not entirely paying attention as Hunk continued to chat.

 

 **Pidge:** OMG so true

 **Pidge:** just tell him Allura will be there

 

 **Matt:** Tell him I’ll be there

 

 **Pidge:** pfft, like he cares. He sees you all the time in class.

 

 **Matt:** That’s called being best friends Katie. Look it up

 

 **Pidge:** EW DONT CALL ME THAT

 

 **Rude Keith:** I actually don’t think he knows Allura will be there.

 **Rude Keith:** He never read over the full conversation.

 

 **Matt:** SHIRO ARE YOU JOKONG ME

 

 **Pidge:** jokong lol

 **Pidge:** that’s so typical of him though. What a surprise it’ll be

 

 **Matt:** no one say anything! I wanna film his reaction when she walks in.

 **Matt:** which means you have to bring him early Keith!

 

 **Rude Keith:** He’s not at home. I was just going to bike over in a bit and tell him to drive.

 

 **Pidge:** dangit Shiro where you at!?

 

 **Matt:** Oh you know he’s probably at that space club meeting

 

 **Rude Keith:** Maybe. He said he was going to be late coming home, but I never asked why.

 

 **Pidge:** Matt aren’t you supposed to go to those meetings as well? Don’t they teach you stuff about astronaut junk?

 

 **Matt:** I WISH. I’d love to learn more about astronaut junk

 **Matt:** ;)

 

 **Pidge:** you know, there are some things a sister doesn’t need to know

 

 **Matt:** you love me

 

 **Pidge:** only because mom says so

 

 **Matt:** [sent a gif](https://media.giphy.com/media/hppWdK8gcmzXq/giphy.gif)

 

 **Rude Keith:** Toby Maguire was the best spiderman.

 

 **Pidge:** truly an icon

 

 **Matt:** what?! No way! That other guy was way hotter! What’s his name?

 

 **Pidge:** No one tell him

 

 **Matt:** Rude. Google exists though so suc it

 **Matt:** ANDREW GARFIELD

 **Matt:** I want one

 

 **Pidge:** jesus Matt control yourself

 **Pidge:** Also just so you know I’m screenshotting all these and keeping them as proof for the next time you say you’re straight

 

 **Matt:** ? I’m totally straight!

 

 **Rude Keith:** He’s ok looking I guess.

 **Rude Keith:** Andrew Garfield I mean.

 

Lance paused here, reading over the message once more to make sure his eyes hadn’t twisted the words.

 

_Did Keith just compliment a guy?_

 

Hunk was watching him expectantly, and Lance blinked in confusion, seeing his friend sigh and roll his eyes playfully as he realized Lance hadn’t heard anything he’d just said.

 

“Sorry, did you say something?” he asked, and Hunk grinned.

 

“I just asked what you read, since your face went all red and your eyes went sort of wide. Was it something in the chat?”

 

Lance swallowed thickly, not having realized his face had betrayed him in such a way. He quickly thought up a lie, not wanting to admit to Hunk that the idea of Keith potentially having a taste for dudes was making his insides squirm excitedly.

 

“No, it was just something my brother sent me on Snapchat.”

 

Hunk nodded thoughtfully, accepting Lance’s excuse without question.

 

“Gotcha.” He turned his attention back to his own phone, leaving Lance internally sigh with relief as he continued reading the messages.

 

 **Matt:** SEE

 

 **Pidge:** yeah, but Keith’s allowed to say that.

 

Again Lance faltered.

 

_What does that mean?_

 

But the subject changed before anyone in the chat could explain, and it was too late now for Lance to ask. So instead he kept reading, storing that new bit of information about Keith in the back of his mind, where he would try and decipher it later.

 

 **Matt:** nothing wrong with admiring a fine ass man

 

_Pidge set the nickname for Matt to “Help I’m stuck in the closet”._

 

 **“Help I’m stuck in the closet”:** am not!

 

 **Pidge:** Whatever you say

 

_“Help I’m stuck in the closet” set the nickname for Pidge to I wear my cool brothers clothing._

 

 **“Help I’m stuck in the closet”:** two can play this game

 

 **I wear my cool brothers clothing:** only partially true

 

 **“Help I’m stuck in the closet”:** don’t even deny it I see you sneak my hoodies all the time!

 

 **I wear my cool brothers clothing:** Oh I’m not denying that part. It’s the “cool brother” I’m struggling with. I thought I only had the one sibling

 

 **“Help I’m stuck in the closet”:** IM COOL

 

 **Rude Keith:** Pidge you’ve been wearing Matt’s clothing?

 

 **I wear my cool brothers clothing:** yeah? Womens clothes suck! I need pockets!

 

 **Rude Keith:** No, it’s not that, I just thought they were pretty feminine is all. I didn’t know they were guys clothing.

 

Lance nearly choked as he read this, and quickly shuffled down to sit next to Hunk and show him what he had just read.

 

“Holy crap Keith is savage!”

 

Hunk, who had been in the middle of texting a girl in one of his group projects, quickly scanned over the messages before bursting out in laughter.

 

“Oh my god! What did Matt say?”

 

They read over the rest of the messages together.

 

 **“Help I’m stuck in the closet”:** WOW

 **“Help I’m stuck in the closet”:** [sent a gif](http://gif-finder.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Mr.Bean-Middle-Finger.gif)

 

 **I wear my cool brothers clothing:** LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

 **I wear my cool brothers clothing:** I JUST LAUGHED SO LOUD PEIPLE ARE STARING AT ME ON THE BUS

 

 **Rude Keith:** Wait, why?

 

“I don’t think he realized he just insulted Matt,” Hunk chuckled as he read the exchange over Lance’s shoulder.

 

“That just makes it funnier!” Lance replied, realizing he had reached the end of the new messages, with Keith’s being the most recent. “He’s hilarious!”

 

Lance glanced over when Hunk didn’t reply right away, and saw a knowingly gleam in his friend’s eye that he had no trouble interpreting.

 

“Don’t even say it.”

 

Hunk did anyways.

 

“What did I tell you? Keith’s pretty awesome, you just had to give him a chance.”

 

“I did! _Am!_ I have no problem with the mullet head anymore.” Which was true. Over the months he had gotten to know Keith, Lance had felt his frustrations over the boy ebb away, until they had been able to settle into a new role of acquaintances.

 

Friends was maybe pushing it a bit, since Lance never actively sought to hang out with Keith if Pidge wasn’t around to act as a buffer, but they were getting better. And after seeing the way Keith was interacting with the others over their Facebook group, Lance was growing eager to cross that threshold into the friendzone.

 

_Wow, never thought I’d say that in my life._

 

Hunk was opening his own Facebook app on his phone, scrolling through the messages quickly to see what he had missed as Lance took it upon himself to do the honours of explaining where Keith had gone so hilariously wrong, but only after changing the name of their group to something more fitting.

 

 _You named the group RIP to Matt Holt_. 

 **The Hot One:** Keith, buddy, you just insulted Matt. Like, hardcore

 

 **“Help I’m stuck in the closet”:** I’ve never been more offended in my life

 

 **Rude Keith:** How? I just said I didn’t know Pidge was wearing your clothes.

 **Rude Keith:** Oh…

 

Lance snorted, earning him a mildly entertained glance from Hunk.

 

“What! His naivety is funny!”

 

“Hmm, sure,” Hunk hummed, and Lance stuck his tongue out at him before returning to the app.

 

 **I wear my cool brothers clothing:** Keith this is why we’re friends

 

 **“Help I’m stuck in the closet”:** I hate both of you. Pidge you’re on your own for a ride

 

 **I wear my cool brothers clothing:** I took the bus. I knew you would forget anyways.

 **I wear my cool brothers clothing:** Lance I’ll be over soon

 

 **The Hot One:** kk

 

 **Hunk the Boy:** you can watch him throw away his milk

 

“Wow, dude!” Lance exclaimed, shoving Hunk’s arm lightly. “Cow Juice is a part of this family now! Can’t just toss him out like trash.”

 

Hunk muttered something under his breath that sounded an awful lot like “wanna bet?”, which Lance elected to ignore. He went back to his phone.

 

 **I wear my cool brothers clothing:** thrilling.

 **Rude Keith:** Pidge you’re leaving now?

 

 **I wear my cool brothers clothing:** Yep, I’ll text you the address

 

 **Rude Keith:** Ok thanks, I’ll head over then as well. Lance does your building have a place for my bike?

 

_Uh...duh?_

 

 **The Hot One:** for a bike? Totally. You can even bring it upstairs if you wanted

 

 **Rude Keith:** Um….alright?

 

_What’s with that? Weirdo._

 

But he didn’t ask. With everyone seemingly heading in his direction anyways, Lance stood, stretching his back as he moved to hook up his speakers to play music. They still had an hour or so to wait before Allura was off work anyways.

 

“So,” Hunk said, turning in his chair to face him as Lance plugged in his phone. “Any idea what character you wanna play?”

 

Lance hummed to himself as he thought.

 

“I have a couple ideas, but Allura said not to worry about it much, so I don’t know.”

 

“What? Why not?”

 

Lance shrugged.

 

“She has something different in mind. I guess we’ll find out soon-” the rest of his sentence was cut off by a loud roaring outside his window, and Lance cursed whoever it was that was driving by making an ass of themselves by gunning their engine.

 

But the noise didn’t fade, instead growing louder as if approaching his apartment building. Lance grumbled as he moved over to his living room window, checking the street below for the cause of the ruckus.

 

Below, parked a little ways down from the front of the building, was a motorbike. Dark red with hints of flame painted to look as if they were coming off the wheels; it was a typical biker dude get-up, and Lance motioned for Hunk to join him to make fun of whoever owned it.

 

“Woah, sweet ride,” Hunk commented as he stood next to Lance at the window, who gave him a look of disgust upon hearing the compliment. Hunk noticed and furrowed his brows. “What?”

 

“They’re loud and stupid!” Lance explained, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared down at the obnoxious vehicle. “And totally impractical! You can’t use those things in the winter, and you have to wear all that sweaty leather and crap just to drive it.”

 

Hunk shrugged as he went back to appraising the bike, the driver adjusting the kickstand and swinging a leg up and over the seat to descend.

 

“Maybe,” he hummed, “but you can’t deny how cool it looks.”

 

“‘Cool’, yeah ok. I bet that guy down there is like, fifty years old with a big ole’ mustache and three failed marriages. I bet underneath that gross, stuffy helmet is a receding hairline and the discarded shells of flavoured sunflower seeds.”

 

“Ah, gross man,” Hunk whined, moving back to the table, but Lance was just getting started.

 

“How much you wanna bet that guy down there is-” he broke off suddenly; the rest of his sentence getting lost as his brain tried to process the scene playing out below. The driver of the bike, who had been checking over his ride as Lance spoke, had finally decided to remove their helmet; revealing not a midlife crisis hasbeen, but- “KEITH?!”

 

Hunk blinked in confusion.

 

“...what?”

 

But Lance couldn’t explain. His eyes were glued to the figure of the boy below as he brushed out his hair; cheeks flushed from the wind and causing Lance’s to reciprocate the colour, but for entirely different reasons.

 

_Holy crap Keith drives a motorbike?!_

 

_Forget what I said about leather…_

 

“Lance?” Hunk tried again, but instead of answering, Lance gave him an order instead.

 

“Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

 

And then he was bolting out the door of his apartment, down three flights of stairs and out onto the cement pathway leading to where Keith had parked.

 

“Oi mullet!” he called out, and Keith’s head snapped up his direction. He frowned at the nickname, then gestured over to his bike; hands still gloved and holding the helmet.

 

“Uh, hey,” Keith said, voice low and almost shy. It made Lance slow to a more relaxed walk as he approached. “Is it alright if I park here?”

 

Lance eyed the machine, then up at his apartment, where Hunk could be seen in the window, hands pressed up against the glass and smiling widely. He suddenly clued in to why Keith’s reply to his offer of keeping the bike upstairs had seemed confused.

 

“Not what I had in mind when you said you’d ‘bike here’,” he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck as he did his best to ignore how tousled Keith’s hair was.

 

The boy laughed lightly in reply, setting his helmet down on the seat and leaning on it.

 

“Still think it’ll fit up the stairs?” he teased, and had Lance not been so flabbergasted already with finding out Keith was a total badass on a bike, he would have been knocked to his feet by the comment. Luckily he was growing used to Keith’s apparent knack for sass.

 

“Oh definitely,” he played along. “Just need a little elbow grease and some muscles.”

 

Keith chuckled at that, before motioning once again to the area.

 

“So it’s cool if I leave it here for a few hours? I’m not in anyone's way?”

 

Lance shook his head.

 

“Should be fine.”

 

Keith nodded, and a silence descended. Lance blinked when he realized he was still openly gaping at the bike, and quickly cleared his throat as he turned back to the building.

 

“Come on up,” he managed to get out, tossing aside everything he had just said about motorcycles. Maybe they weren’t all that bad at all.

 

Or maybe it was just Keith.

 

_Aye, no way. It’s definitely just the bike._

 

Keith was a neat guy, but like, not in _that_ way. It was just a bit of a shock to see him driving such a dangerous machine, and made Lance realize he really knew nothing about the person following behind him as they reached the front door and Hunk buzzed them in.

 

“Nice place here,” Keith commented as they ascended the stairs, breaking the silence that Lance had inevitably let grow. He glanced back at Keith and smiled.

 

“Yeah it’s pretty cozy. Also,” he paused on the steps, turning fully and causing Keith to bump into him lightly. He stepped back with a confused eyebrow raise; cheeks still rosy from the ride over. “How did you get here so fast? Do you live close by?”

 

“Oh, um,” Keith adjusted the helmet he was still holding in his grip before answering. “No. I was just in the area. Dropping something off.”

 

“Like what?”

 

“Just something,” was all Keith provided, and as much as Lance wanted to pursue the topic, he let it drop. He knew from the few months he had been hanging out with Keith that if the boy didn’t want to share something, he wouldn’t. Simple as that.

 

He resumed climbing the stairs with a shrug.

 

“Alright Mr. Mystery Mullet Man.” He heard Keith groan at the addition to his nickname and huffed out a laugh. They reached Lance’s front door, where Hunk graciously opened it for them, and Lance was about to thank him when something cold, damp and heavy was tossed into his arms.

 

“Time to dump the milk.”

 

Lance grimaced as his hands slid over the dewy surface of the jug, feeling the chunks that had developed in what was once smooth liquid slosh around unpleasantly.

 

“Aw Hunk, not now! We have guests over!”

 

But Hunk wasn’t having it.

 

“Exactly. You can do it now while Keith and I watch so that I know it gets done.”

 

“Um...what?” Keith asked, sliding into the room behind Lance and placing his helmet down on the floor. He noticed the milk container in Lance’s arms, and the stern expression Hunk was giving his best friend, and held up both hands in surrender. “Uh, yeah. No thanks.”

 

Lance smirked, momentarily distracted by the quickly approaching demise of his milk as he turned towards Keith.

 

“Mullet, meet Cow Juice.”

 

Keith cringed, backing away from Lance until his back hit the wall.

 

“I’d hardly call that juice at all. It’s almost cheese at this point,” Hunk chastised, shutting the door and pointing down the hallway to where the bathroom was. “Now go dump it.”

 

Lance stuck out his bottom lip as he glanced back over towards Hunk, cradling the milk in his arms as one would a baby.

 

“But Hunk! He has to meet his Uncle Keith still!”

 

“Please, no…” Keith’s voice trailed off as Lance took a step closer, arms outstretched and grinning wickedly.

 

“Don’t you wanna hold the baby-” Lance broke off as his feet came into contact with Keith’s helmet, and for a split second everything was still. And then the milk was slipping from his hands as he tilted forward; eyes growing wide as he realized he was about to trip and liekly break the carton.

 

“Ah!” Hunk yelped, seeing it all unfold before his eyes, but instead of landing on the ground with a face-full of spoiled milk as Lance had been bracing himself for, he was caught up in Keith’s chest, who had jumped forward as soon as Lance had begun his descent.

 

With the milk in one arm and Lance in the other, Keith stumbled backwards, but managed to keep his footing and save them all from a very unfortunate ending that would have left them all bawling over spilt milk.

 

Lance was still for a moment, mind slow to catch up to what had just transpired. But then Keith’s grip was loosening on his back, and Lance quickly stood and shook his head, hoping to clear his head of all the thoughts that had sprung up at being in such a close proximity.

 

Thoughts like how good Keith smelled.

 

Or how tight his chest had felt.

 

And then he remembered the milk.

 

“My child! You saved us!” Lance yanked the jug out of Keith’s arms, who hastily wiped his hands off on his pants.

 

“That thing smells so bad!” Keith complained, sniffing his gloves and making a face, and Lance scoffed.

 

“CJ smells wonderful and you can’t deny it.”

 

“Oh, I can and I will,” Keith shot back. “I hate milk to begin with but that... _thing_ is disgusting.”

 

“Lance!” Hunk suddenly exclaimed, making him jump. “Go dump it out now! It almost landed all over the floor!”

 

“How can you hate milk?” Lance asked, ignoring Hunk for the time being. Keith folded his arms over his chest; cheeks still holding a brilliant shade of pink.

 

_Shouldn’t that have faded by now?_

 

“It’s just gross.”

 

Lance was about to reply when two strong arms were suddenly on his back, pushing him down the hall and into the bathroom.

 

“Do it. Now. Or I call your mother,” Hunk threatened, and Lance finally relented.

 

“Such a cruel father,” he muttered, stepping into the bathroom and towards the toilet. He lifted the lid, and when he glanced up, saw both Keith and Hunk in the reflection of the mirror as they stood watching. “You guys wanna say something to help ease his passing?” Lance suggested, and the two exchanged horrified expressions.

 

“He’s all yours,” Hunk said, and then he left. Keith lingered for a moment longer though, and Lance slowly undid the the top of the carton.

 

“How can you think milk is gross-” he started to ask again, but broke off with a gag as the smell of rancid dairy filled the air. To make matters worse, the splashing sounds of milk chunks hitting toilet water were enough to make Lance’s insides flip over uncomfortably, but there was nothing he could do besides wait for the contents to drain out.

 

His eyes watered, but he could still see the blurry image of Keith as his hands moved to cover his nose; face contorting as he stumbled out of the bathroom and into the hall.

 

“Like that!” Keith choked out, and made to close the door.

 

“Wait! Don’t leave me in here alone!”

 

But Keith was already shutting the door, trapping Lance in the small room without the fan on; slowly suffocating in the unpleasant aromas and shiver-worthy sounds of rotten milk.

 

“Keith come back!” he tried calling out, but nearly retched as another wave of stench reached his nostrils.

 

By the time it was all said and done, Lance was panting, and tumbled out of the bathroom with the newly cleaned jug of milk in one hand while the other kept his shirt secured over his nose.

 

Hunk and Keith were sitting on the couch as he stumbled into the living room.

 

“You guys suck!”

 

“Did Cow Juice put up a fight?” Hunk teased, moving to take the carton from Lance and toss it into the recycling.

 

“That was not my child. It was possessed. I swear.”

 

Lance had more to say on the subject, but found himself unable to go on. Not because he was emotional over the loss of milk, but because the cutest little giggle had escaped Keith’s lips after his last sentence. It was almost enough to make his heinous actions of locking him in the bathroom alone forgivable.

 

Almost.

 

“Don’t you laugh at me Mullet! I almost died!”

 

Keith was doing his best to hide a smirk, which was as endearing as it was frustrating, and Lance flopped down on the loveseat on the other side of the room with a groan.

 

“Told you milk was gross,” he heard Keith say, and turned his face to glance over at the boy.

 

“That wasn’t my Cow Juice. That was form of chemical warfare. My nostrils are ruined! My bathroom is destroyed, and quite frankly, my opinion of you has-”

 

“Soured?” Keith offered, and Lance felt his mouth drop open in shock.

 

_He sassed me! In my own home!_

 

_And it was good!_

 

Hunk chuckled as he returned, sitting down beside Keith on the couch and facing Lance.

 

“Oh, it’s definitely _curdled_ ,” he supplied, earning another small chuckle from Keith and a single finger response from Lance.

 

It was then that his door swung open, revealing Pidge and Matt.

 

“Hello to you too Lance! Such a pleasant welcome,” Matt said sarcastically, seeing his middle finger still raised, and Lance sat up.

 

“It was meant for those two over there,” he pointed at Hunk and Keith, who fist bumped in return.

 

_Since when are they such good pals?_

 

But he didn’t linger on the thought, instead turning his attention back to the two Holt’s in his doorway.

 

“How’d you guys get in by the way?”

 

“I used my key,” Pidge said, matter-o-factly, and Lance frowned.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Oh darn, silly me, I keep forgetting to tell you I had a copy of your key made awhile back.”

 

Lance was silent, not knowing if Pidge was serious or not. Her sarcasm could go both ways, and he had learned from experience to never quite believe everything she said.

 

Luckily Matt explained.

 

“There was an old dude leaving and he held the door open for us.”

 

_Oh, makes sense._

 

“Or _did_ he,” Pidge added, shooting a wink in Lance’s direction as she slipped off her shoes. He huffed in annoyance, but figured that, had she had a key to his apartment this whole time he would have already woken up without eyebrows or something equally as dreadful.

 

Still, he made a mental note to start using the deadbolt at night as well.

 

“You guys just missed the show,” Hunk said, standing and helping Matt with the bags he had brought. Lance was curious as to what they contained, hoping for snacks, but remained in his spot on the couch as he pouted.

 

“Too soon man,” he complained, and Hunk rolled his eyes.

 

“It was pretty gross,” Keith added, and Matt huffed when he saw him sitting on the couch.

 

“Oh, if it isn’t Mr. Fashion Sense.”

 

“Sup Keith,” Pidge waved, jumping down beside him and taking out her phone. “I screenshotted those messages and sent them to Shiro. He’s gonna be so proud.”

 

“I didn’t mean it as an insult!” Keith tried to explain, but Matt harrumphed and chose the spot next to Lance on the loveseat, jutting out his lower lip and turning his head away indignantly.

 

“Don’t pity him Keith,” Pidge said. “He deserves it. Made me take the stinky bus home and then walk over. And then as soon as I get here he pulls up in his dumb car with the music blasting and almost runs me over.”

 

“Did not. You jaywalked in front of me!”

 

“Those white lines on the road mean it’s legal. It’s called a crosswalk.”

 

“I swerved in time. You were fine.”

 

“Still telling on you.”

 

“What you’d bring me?” Lance interjected, saving them all from the sibling squabble. Matt, who had his mouth open to argue back with Pidge, shut it in favour of retrieving the bags. He emptied the contents out on the floor, revealing a stunning display of chips, pop and candy that had Lance’s mouth watering.

 

“It’s been so long since I’ve had junk food,” he cheered, and Matt beamed.

 

“Dig in!” He bent and tossed a bag of zesty Doritos over to Lance, who caught them and quickly tore them open; breathing in the heavenly scent of cheese and chip.

 

“I owe you my life,” he mumbled, mouth full.

 

“Still can’t believe you made me buy that sin flavour with my own two hands.”

 

“They’re the best kind!” Lance said after swallowing, and stood to grab a few bowls from his kitchen so the others could share. “Here, don’t make a mess. I just cleaned everything and I want it to stay that way for a bit.”

 

“Might want to redo the bathroom,” Keith muttered, and Lance scoffed, choosing to sit cross-legged on the floor in front of the food and glower at the boy.

 

“You still aren’t forgiven for that little stunt you pulled.”

 

Pidge sat up then, reaching for a new bag of chips and helping herself.

 

“What happened?”

 

“He’s mad because I closed the door while he was dumping out old milk. It would have stunk up the whole place,” Keith explained, and Hunk nodded.

 

“It was nasty.”

 

“Yeah and _I_ had to deal with it _alone!”_ Lance whined, and Keith shrugged.

 

“You lived.”

 

“Barely.”

 

“It was your own fault. Milk is gross.”

 

“ _You’re_ gross!” Lance shot back, and Hunk chuckled.

 

“Chill dude, you can get more milk the next time you go shopping, which I’m guessing is soon, based on your lack of food.”

 

Lance shrugged, taking another handful of chips.

 

“I’ll go this weekend or something. Anyone wanna come? I hate going there alone. So many creeps.”

 

Pidge and Matt both shook their heads, and Hunk gave him a sad smile.

 

“Sorry man, my moms are visiting this weekend.”

 

“You mean I have to go _by myself?!_ ” Lance groaned, laying back on the floor with a huff. “That means I have to carry groceries on the _bus_!”

 

“I can take you…”

 

Lance lifted his head enough to stare back at the person who had spoken. Keith was watching him with a slight smile, ears turning pink as he glanced away.

 

“If you want,” he added quietly, and Lance sat up fully.

 

“How?” he asked. “You have a bike, and it doesn’t look big enough for two.”

 

“It is,” Keith explained, giving Lance a lovely mental image of the two of them crammed close together on the leather seat and flying down the highway. “But it’s not great for groceries. I can borrow Shiro’s car though.”

 

Lance hummed as he considered. He didn’t know Keith as well as the others; hardly at all it seemed, seeing as he had been thrown for a loop with bike, but shopping was easy. He just had to grab a few things really, and how awkward could _that_ be?

 

Besides, if it meant not having to rely on the bus then Lance was sold.

 

“Ok, sure then,” he smiled, and Keith nodded quickly before turning his attention towards his phone, presumably texting his brother to let him know his plans.

 

“You cool with Costco?” Lance asked after a moment, and Keith’s eyes once again met his.

 

_What colour is that?_

 

“I’ve never been.”

 

_Wait...WHAT?_

 

Everyone in the room turned towards him, and Keith sunk lower into the couch under their stares.

 

“Did...did I say something wrong?”

 

“You’ve _never_ been to Costco?” Hunk’s eyes were wide with disbelief, and even the Holt’s were wearing matching pairs of shocked expressions.

 

Keith shook his head; hair falling down to cover the majority of his face.

 

_Oh my...that’s...sort of cute-_

 

_Nope._

 

Lance forced his mind to focus, and slapped on an easy grin.

 

“This should be fun then! I get to take your Costco V-card!”

 

Keith’s cheeks flushed red upon hearing that, which hadn’t been the reaction Lance was expecting; he’d been ready to hear a sassy comeback, or at least a groan.

 

But this?

 

This was so much better.

 

_A little shy are we?_

 

He stored that bit of information away in the back of his mind, jumping slightly as the panel once again rang out. He stood and held down the button that allowed him to communicate with whoever was downstairs.

 

“Helllloooo?” he drawled, and heard the huff of annoyance from the other end.

 

“ _Lance? Can you let me in?”_

 

“Who is it?” Hunk asked, and Lance answered both questions at once.

 

“Shiro what a surprise! I’ll let you in if you say the magic word.”

 

There was a pause, then:

 

“ _Please?”_

 

“Nope. Wrong. Try again.”

 

_“Ugh Lance, if you don’t buzz me in I’ll just leave.”_

 

There was a chorus of ‘no’ from behind him as the others all jumped up, save for Keith, and Lance quickly pressed the button that permitted Shiro access to the building.

 

“Rude,” he said, hanging up as Shiro chuckled into the receiver.

 

There was a knock on his door half a minute later, and then Shiro was entering the room.

 

“Wow glad you could make it!” Matt called out from behind Lance, who was handed a brown paper bag by Shiro as he closed the door behind him.

 

“Meeting ended early,” Shiro replied, before turning to Lance. “You’re of age right?”

 

“Wha- of _course_ I am!” Lance spluttered, realizing what it was Shiro had given him. “But dude, you didn’t have to bring _wine!_ ”

 

The older man shrugged, taking off his shoes as he joined the others in the living room.

 

“Well, you were gracious enough to host, so I thought it best. Besides, Keith wasn’t about to drink it, so I thought it best not to let it go to waste.”

 

Lance was a bit thrown, to be completely honest, and simply nodded as he made his way into the kitchen with his new treasure.

 

_Wow, Shiro is awesome!_

 

He opened the bag, revealing a pastel shade of clear pink liquid with delicate cursive writing adorning the label. Several different types of fruits were etched into the glass, and judging by looks alone, Lance assumed the bottle had come at a hefty price.

 

“Geez Shiro, I hope you didn’t spend much on this! It’s only D&D!” Lance called from the kitchen, taking the bottle in both hands as he admired it.

 

“I didn’t actually,” Shiro answered, and Lance moved so he was standing in the doorway to the living room, where his friends were avidly snacking on the treats Matt had brought. “Our Aunt,” he gestured to Keith and himself, “owns a winery, and sends up a couple bottles every year. That one is from her newer collection, but neither of us really like it.” Shiro shrugged as he gazed at the bottle in Lance’s hands. “Too sweet.”

 

“And it’s pink,” Keith added, his own eyes trailing over the gift with distaste. “I don’t drink pink liquids.”

 

“That’s a lie,” Shiro turned to his brother with a smirk. “I’ve seen you down a bottle of Pepto Bismol without hesitation before.”

 

Keith made a face.

 

“That’s because _someone_ forgot to buy lactose-free yogurt.”

 

_Oh my god…_

 

“Wait,” Lance interrupted. “Is _that_ why you don’t like milk?”

 

_Keith is lactose intolerant?!_

 

_How come I didn’t know that?_

 

“Part of the reason,” Keith admitted, shifting down on the couch so his brother could sit. “But also because Pidge once made me watch this gross documentary about what goes into milk, and I’ve never been the same.”

 

“It was awesome,” Pidge chortled wickedly. “You should have seen his face!”

 

“Wait, now I’m curious.” Hunk chimed in. “What goes into milk?”

 

“You don’t wanna know,” Keith warned, and Lance chuckled at the seriousness in his tone.

 

“Well anyways,” he interjected, saving them all as Pidge was about to answer Hunk’s question, “thanks. I love sweet wines.”

 

“No problem,” Shiro smiled, and Matt tossed a pillow at his head as Lance stored the bottle away for later. D&D wasn’t really a wine kind of game.

 

“So Space Man,” Matt said as Lance returned to the living room. “How was the meeting?”

 

Shiro sighed as he plopped down on the couch next to Keith, taking a few chips from the bowl in Pidge’s lap in the process.

 

“Oh just _super_ . Professor Coran is great and all, but _man_ does he like talking. The meeting actually ended twenty minutes ago, but guess who got stuck in a conversation about bees.” Shiro pointed to himself. “This guy.”

 

“You get Coran as a prof?” Lance asked, sitting back down on the floor and crossing his legs as he reached for his own bag of Doritos. “He’s the best!”

 

Shiro frowned, clearly wanting to disagree.

 

“He’s great sure, and really smart. But he tends to go off on these tangents.”

 

“Especially when Slav shows up for guest lectures,” Matt added, and the two boys groaned.

 

Lance shrugged. He had only heard good things about Coran, and though he had yet to have him for a teacher, he knew the man pretty well outside of school. Sure, he loved to talk, but so did Lance, and their conversations could last hours on end if no one interrupted.

 

“His mustache is impressive,” Hunk commented, and Shiro hummed.

 

“I suppose. I think it sort of looks like a giant caterpillar. Or-” he broke off laughing as Matt held up a Cheeto to his face, mimicking the quirky professor by pressing it between his nose and upper lip. “Yes!” Shiro clapped, the sound metallic due to his prosthetic arm. “Just like that!”

 

“‘Let’s talk about time warps and space travel!’” Matt mocked, his voice a near perfect rendition of Coran’s accent. Everyone in the room giggled.

 

“‘My mustache defies gravity almost as inexplicably as Hooron one dash threes seventh moon!’” the boy went on, and through the chorus of laughter that resounded from the jest, no one heard the door to Lance’s apartment open.

 

“Do the one where he talks about the potential for space goop as rocket fuel!” Shiro egged, and just as Matt was about to do so, a throat was cleared crisply from the doorway.

 

There, standing with her arms folded neatly over her chest and a knowing smirk on her face, was Allura.

 

 _Oh shit,_ Lance thought, knowing full well what that look was about. He wondered if the others knew.

 

See, the only reason he knew Coran was because of Allura. He frequented the coffee shop Lance worked at, and when Allura had worked there with him, Coran had quickly been introduced as someone she held very dear to her heart.

 

Someone he doubted she would enjoy hearing be made fun of.

 

“Talking about my uncle, are we?” She waggled her finger in the dead silence that followed, shaking her head as she tisked. “My, my...you must all have a death wish.”

 

Lance swallowed thickly, and saw the others do the same. But there was no malice in Allura’s voice. If anything, her tone was more teasing, but that did little to ease the panic beginning to settle in Lance’s gut as she stepped into the room.

 

“And why’s that?” Matt asked tentatively, and Allura’s gaze fell on him.

 

“Because, dear Matthew,” she cooed, and Lance saw the boy pale at the use of his full name. “Rule number two of D&D...” she paused here, likely for dramatic effect, but Lance knew exactly what she was going to say next.

 

_Oh fuck, we’re all screwed..._

 

Allura grinned, but there was nothing soft and pleasant about the smile. She cracked her knuckles menacingly as her eyes bore into Matt.

 

“Never piss off your Dungeon Master."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had every intention of having them play the actual game in this chapter but...things happened. 
> 
> And by things I mean I got carried away with milk and bikes and fucking facebook messenger! It's just so fun to write!
> 
> Anyways, let me know if the gifs work again, and leave any feedback. I would love if someone who had a vast knowledge in dungeons and dragons would want to help me out a bit with the nitty-gritty details, so feel free to contact me on [my Tumblr](https://vulpes--vulpes.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Ta for now!


	3. Aliens and Ass-tronauts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But Keith was excited, because he had never played something as in-depth as Dungeons and Dragons, and he was looking forward to seeing how their adventure would unfold. Plus, now was his chance to get to know the group better, aside from Pidge, Shiro, and Matt. Hunk was easy enough to get along with, and Allura was sure to be close to family at some point, if Shiro would get his act together. Which left only Lance as the anomaly.
> 
> Keith wasn’t sure about the boy, only that he was easy on the eyes and a little hard on the ears at times. Still though, Keith couldn’t come up with any excuses to explain the lingering stares, or the way his palms would grow clammy beneath the fingerless gloves he wore on the daily.
> 
>  
> 
> _But now I can find out._
> 
>  
> 
> And with one final peek over at the boy at his side, Keith settled into his chair, ready for whatever came next.
> 
>  
> 
> _And so it begins…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back!! and ready to throw down some dice!  
> Huge shoutout to @nighttyger for helping me with this! Super appreciate it!

Keith had never in his life heard so many rules for a game.

 

It was endless, and after the first ten minutes of Allura, Pidge and Lance all talking over each other trying to explain the premise behind Dungeons and Dragons, Keith had zoned out.

 

It was complicated, and seemingly endless, and he was growing bored.

 

Shiro seemed to be in the same boat, but after apologizing profusely to Allura about mocking Coran, was making more of an effort to listen as she spoke. That, coupled with the fact that Keith knew his brother was majorly pining over the girl, and would thus drink in every word she said no matter what the subject, meant Shiro likely had more of a grasp on how to play than he did.

 

_I’ll just ask him for help if I need it._

 

So Keith let his mind wander lazily; drifting from topic to topic as he nodded absently whenever the others asked if he understood something. They had all settled down at Lance’s kitchen table, which was surprisingly large considering he was the only one in the apartment.

 

 _“It’s for when my family visits!”_ He had explained when Keith had asked, a fact that he now mulled over.

 

_So Lance has a large family, eh? Didn’t know that…_

 

There was a lot Keith apparently didn’t know about the boy sitting directly at his right. Like the fact that Lance had an entire shelf dedicated to animes, and several nerdy posters decorating his walls. Keith had no idea what the majority of them represented, but they were pretty to look at, for the most part, and made the apartment cozier.

 

_I already knew he was a nerd, but this is like, majorly dorky._

 

There was also the abundance of the colour blue decorating the entirety of the building; from hand towels draped over the stove handle, to oven mitts and cups stacked neatly in the cupboard. The bathroom, from what Keith had momentarily seen during the milk incident, hosted a wave-patterned shower curtain, as well as a navy blue bath mat.

 

 _I wonder what his favourite colour is..._ Keith thought sarcastically, and his attention flickered absently to Lance’s eyes.

 

_Blue is pretty....I suppose._

 

And speaking of, Keith noticed Lance’s weren’t just a simple monochromatic shade of the colour. Instead his eyes were a kaleidoscope of different hues; soft turquoise under the artificial light of the kitchen, but a deeper navy, almost grey in the shadows. It was as unnerving as it was fascinating, and reminded Keith of bioluminescent sea creatures that lurked in the darkest depths of the ocean.

 

“-eith?”

 

Lance’s eyes shifted, and suddenly Keith was being swallowed up in a plethora of blue as their gazes met. He blinked, hastily breaking the contact and turning towards whoever had spoken, cheeks heating unpleasantly.

 

“Hmm?”

 

Pidge was eyeing him with ill-hidden amusement, but thankfully she appeared to be the only one to notice where his attention had been.

 

Well, ‘ _thankfully’_ was putting it one way. Keith knew there was bound to be repercussions later on, when Pidge would bombard him with teasing.

 

_I can come up with a decent lie before then though..._

 

“Did you even hear what Allura said?” she asked, and the tone of her voice told him that she already knew the answer.

 

He gave one anyways.

 

“Um...no, sorry. I zoned out.”

 

“ _Keeeiitthh_!” Lance whined, leaning back in his chair so his head hung over the back. “We’re only doing this for you!”

 

“No, it’s ok,” Allura said before Keith could apologize again. “We should just start the game. It’ll be easier to explain as we go.”

 

“Oh thank god,” Matt mumbled, lifting his head from off the table and cleaning his glasses. “That was so boring to listen to.”

 

Allura shot him a glare.

 

“Oh, dear Matthew, I have so much in store for you,” she drawled, and Matt’s eyes widened comically in fear. “But for now, let’s all pick characters.”

 

Lance jerked forward in his seat, leaning across the table as his hands roamed over the stack of papers Allura had brought with her. Keith hadn’t paid them much mind at first, but apparently they were important, since Lance was frantically searching the pile for...well, something.

 

Keith wasn’t sure what until the boy sat back with a triumphant “Ah HA!”

 

He glanced over at the inquisitive look Keith was giving him and smirked.

 

“Had to make sure I got the best character ever,” he grinned, flapping the sheet around in front of Keith’s face. “My boy the bard!”

 

_What?_

 

Keith glanced around the table, where the others, minus himself and Shiro, had all chosen a sheet similar to Lance’s. Allura noticed his evident confusion and explained.

 

“These are the character sheets. You get to pick one, usually a class you want to play, and it will help guide you throughout the game.”

 

“Umm…” Keith mumbled, still perplexed, and Pidge rolled her eyes.

 

“She went over this already, but I guess someone was in La-La-Lance. Oh, sorry,” she mused as Lance raised a brow, “I meant land.”

 

She ignored the glare she received from Keith in response as she rummaged through the pile and handed him a sheet, which he took after sticking his tongue out in reply to her teasing remark.

 

He read over the paper briefly, eyes not making it very far before his brows were lowering in puzzlement.

 

“A fighter? What’s that? And what are all these numbers?”

 

It was Lance who spoke up this time, pointing at Keith’s sheet with a long, slender finger.

 

“You’re our fighter class, remember? It means you’re basically the muscle of the group. You have a higher armour class,” his finger moved to the top of the page, where the number ‘16’ was in a box, “which means you’ll be harder to hit,” Lance went on, and Keith pretended he knew what that meant. “You’re proficient in all these things here,” again Lance’s finger moved to show what he was referring to, “and you can specialize in whatever form of combat you like.”

 

The boy leaned back, eyeing Keith with a gleam in his eyes.

 

“I have a feeling you’re the classic sword and shield guy,” he mused, and though Keith was still completely baffled with the majority of what his friends were saying, _this_ at least, he understood.

 

“Can I dual wield?” he asked, and Lance’s eyebrows shot up on his forehead.

 

“Dual wield is usually more of a rogue thing,” Pidge chimed in, and Keith turned his attention towards her.

 

“And that’s what you are?”

 

She nodded, grinning smugly.

 

“Rogues are the best. But I prefer the shortbow and knives over the swords.”

 

“That’s because you like sneaking up on enemies and trying to take them out from behind,” Matt grumbled from beside her, his own sheet laid out in front of him.

 

“Yeah? And?” Pidge mocked. “It’s a great strategy!”

 

Matt harrumphed, taking his glasses off to clean them as he spoke.

 

“Yeah, maybe if you actually _told_ us our plan and didn't just leave in the middle of combat.”

 

“That was _one_ time!” Pidge shot back. “And it _worked._ ”

 

“Still,” Matt went on, “rule number three: never split up the party.”

 

_I feel like these rules are made up at random…_

 

“Alright, that’s enough,” Allura interjected, seeing Pidge’s mouth fall open with a comeback and cutting her off before it could escape. “We can talk logistics later. For now, let’s just focus on getting Shiro and Keith up to speed with their characters.”

 

“Right,” Lance agreed, going back to Keith’s sheet. He frowned then, glancing at his own paper, then over at Hunk’s, before turning back to Allura. “Hey, all the races are empty. And so are the personal quests. Why's that?”

 

Everyone focused in on Allura, who was sitting at the head of the table and wearing a very amused smirk. She cracked her knuckles, and Keith saw Matt flinch at the motion, before explaining.

 

“I told you,” she began, drawing out the statement. “I have something different in mind for this campaign. Something...special.”

 

There was a silence as everyone waited for her to go on, which she did after a moment, letting the suspense build.

 

“I didn’t want to follow the basic campaign this time. I’ve played that one too much already and I’m sick of the story line. So I started writing a new one, just for this, and realized that I didn’t _have_ to make it a typical fantasy adventure RPG, you know?”

 

Lance, Hunk, Pidge and Matt all nodded, entranced by Allura’s words, while Shiro and Keith exchanged confused glances, having no idea what the difference was.

 

_And what the hell is an RPG? Rowdy Player Group? Rambunctious People Gathering?_

 

He glanced over at Lance.

 

_Really Pretty Guy?_

 

“So I thought,” Allura was saying, snapping Keith from his thoughts as his cheeks flushed. “Why not break from the traditional races and medieval tropes, and go for something completely different?”

 

“Different how?” Lance interrupted, sitting on the edge of his seat and looking entirely too enthralled with what their DM was saying. “We aren’t doing the swords and bows stuff?”

 

Allura shook her head, white hair falling passed her shoulders and cascading down her front.

 

“No...well,” she shrugged. “We will, but they won’t be exactly as you picture them. It’s more futuristic than that.”

 

“So like, Earth in the year 3000?” Matt joked, and Allura rolled her eyes.

 

“No. This campaign doesn’t take place on Earth.”

 

“WOAH HOLY CRAP!” Lance cheered, and even Pidge looked ready to start bouncing up and down in her chair. “WE’RE DOING SPACE!”

 

Allura beamed, and Hunk spoke up next.

 

“Space? Like rocket ships and aliens?”

 

“Correct,” Allura nodded, “though it’ll be more advanced than that. Just...trust me, you guys will have fun with this, hopefully,” she added on, and Shiro reached out to pat her shoulder.

 

“If you wrote it, then it will be amazing.”

 

_Oh smooth Shiro. Don’t even pretend you have any idea what she’s talking about._

 

But Allura was smiling, her cheeks darkening at the compliment, so Keith let his brother have his small victory.

 

“I’m so _freaking_ excited,” Lance cheered, picking up his character sheet and eyeing it over once again. “So what are the races then? Are we all aliens? What are the stats?”

 

“Woah, calm down dude,” Hunk chuckled, though his own grin was widening as he glanced over at Allura. “Let her explain.”

 

“Hold on,” Lance held up a finger, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing his phone. “Just lemme change something real quick.”

 

There was silence around the table as everyone watch Lance type something into his cell, and then a symphony of buzzing began, notifying them all of a messenger update.

 

_Lance named the group Aliens and Ass-tronauts._

 

A series of groans followed afterwards, as everyone read over the change.

 

“Really Lance?” Pidge rolled her eyes as he shot her finger guns, shoving his phone back in his pocket. “We haven’t even started the game yet and already I’m regretting this.”

 

Keith felt a smile tug at his lips as he watched the exchange, and then Allura was clearing her throat to get their attention once more.

 

“Technically, there will be no astronauts. Your characters are all paladins-”

 

“I don’t wanna be a paladin! I wanna be a bard!” Lance interrupted, and Allura threw a cheeto at his head. He blinked and froze as it hit him square in the noggin, and then frowned down at the snack. “Wha-Hey! I just cleaned in here you pleb!” he huffed, popping the chip in his mouth. “Don’t make a mess!”

 

“Then let me finish.”

 

“Yeah Lance, a gentleman always lets the lady finish first,” Matt winked, and Keith watched as another groan went up around the room.

 

He didn’t join in this time.

 

_What? Am I missing something?_

 

Pidge smacked her brother in the arm, hard enough to make him yelp and rub at the spot afterwards.

 

“I’m so telling mom on you,” she huffed out, clear disappointment evident on her face.

 

“I don’t get it,” Keith mumbled her way, and saw Lance glance over as Pidge winked.

 

“And you wouldn’t, so don’t worry about it.”

 

_Pfft, fine._

 

_I’m still gonna ask you later though._

 

Lance’s eyes flickered between himself and Pidge, but he hastily looked away when Keith tried to meet his gaze; eyebrows lowered slightly over his face in an expression of confusion.

 

_Maybe he didn’t get it either..._

 

But before Keith could ponder further, Allura was continuing her train of thought.

 

“Not ‘paladin’ as in the class. Paladin as in the name I came up with to describe your job. You’ll be playing as Paladins of Voltron, which is a bit of a spoiler, so act more surprised when we reach that part of the campaign.”

 

“‘Paladins of Voltron?’” Shiro spoke up, glancing over at Allura with a slight frown. “How long will it take to reach that part?”

 

Allura shrugged, gesturing to the others around the table.

 

“With this group? Who knows. Maybe a few hours? Maybe a couple sessions.”

 

“Wow, that’s rude,” Lance said at the same time Shiro’s eyebrows rose up on his forehead, and he choked out a startled: “ _Hours?!”_

 

“Hours, yeah,” Hunk confirmed. “What did you think this was?”

 

Shiro shook his head, bewilderment clearly defined on his face.

 

“I thought it was like, a one time thing. An hour or so of game and then it’s over, like Monopoly or something.”

 

A series of chuckles resonated around the table, as if everyone were sharing some inside joke and poor Shiro was the butt of it all.

 

“Oh, Shiro, buddy,” Matt wheezed, reaching over to pat his hand. “You’re in for such a treat.”

 

Shiro visibly gulped as he lifted his gaze to meet Keith’s from across the table. But even Keith couldn’t hide the smile on his face quick enough, and Shiro pointed an accusatory finger in his direction.

 

“You _knew?!_ And you didn’t _tell me!?_ ”

 

Keith’s stifled giggles were all the answer Shiro needed.

 

“Betrayed! By my own brother!” He shook his head as he stared down at his character sheet unblinkingly. “And here I thought this would take like, three hours tops.”

 

“Try three hours min,” Pidge snorted, and Hunk nodded his agreement.

 

“Yeah, dude, hate to break it to you, but you kinda just started one of the longest games in history.”

 

“And no take-backsies,” Lance chimed in, positioning himself in his chair in such a manner so as to be ready to block Shiro’s way should he decide to bolt. “You already chose your player.”

 

“Yes,” Allura added, and if Shiro had been harbouring any thoughts of leaving, her voice was acting as an anchor. “Besides, I already wrote you into the campaign, so you can’t leave now.”

 

Shiro groaned theatrically, propping his head up on his hands.

 

“Guess I don’t have much of choice then, do I?”

 

A chorus of ‘nopes’ went around the table, and he chuckled softly to himself.

 

“Right, ok...let’s start then.”

 

“ _Finally!”_ Pidge drawled, and then everyone was turning towards Allura, waiting for her to go ahead.

 

It was like being in a room full of toddlers right before storytime: wide-eyed with anticipation and silent as mice, but as funny as it was to watch his friends all lean forward expectantly as Allura cleared her throat, Keith found himself doing much the same. It was as if a spell had been cast over the group; the words leaving Allura’s mouth all binding them into the game, like a contract of sorts.

 

But Keith was excited, because he had never played something as in-depth as Dungeons and Dragons, and he was looking forward to seeing how their adventure would unfold. Plus, now was his chance to get to know the group better, aside from Pidge, Shiro, and Matt. Hunk was easy enough to get along with, and Allura was sure to be close to family at _some_ point, if Shiro would get his act together. Which left only Lance as the anomaly.

 

Keith wasn’t sure about the boy, only that he was easy on the eyes and a little hard on the ears at times. Still though, Keith couldn’t come up with any excuses to explain the lingering stares, or the way his palms would grow clammy beneath the fingerless gloves he wore on the daily.

 

_But now I can find out._

 

And with one final peek over at the boy at his side, Keith settled into his chair, ready for whatever came next.

 

_And so it begins…_

 

“The scene I wanna set up goes as follows,” Allura shuffled her papers around, hiding them behind a screen with a large dragon painted neatly on the front. Keith assumed it was to keep the others from seeing what it was she was doing, and allowed for total immersion into her story as they focused solely on her words.

 

“The world is decades into the future. Technology has advanced to allow an immense amount of science to develop. I’m talking cures for diseases we didn’t have before, green energies to replace fossil fuels, initiatives to end world-hunger with genetically engineered crops...and most important of all: space travel.”

 

“Just like Star Trek,” Lance whispered to Hunk, who shushed him hastily. He sat back, scowling slightly, and then turned towards Keith. “You following along so far buddy?”

 

_Um...yeah?_

 

Keith must have made a face, because Lance snorted and returned his attention to Allura with a small smile.

 

 _Ah,_ Keith found himself thinking. _That was sort of cute..._

 

“Though still a ways off from intergalactic exploring,” Allura continued, “a branch of NASA, called the Galaxy Garrison, has developed the necessary advances in both rocket science and human transportation across vast distances, and is ready to send a mission off to collect ice samples from one of Pluto’s moons. The mission is called-”

 

“Hold up,” Matt interrupted, “you’re saying that Earth has come up with all these cool new gadgets, and we’re only using them to _collect ice?!”_ and just like that, the spell Allura had been weaving was broken. Pidge made an annoyed grunt in the back of her throat, turning towards her brother with a look of outright frustration.

 

“Really Matt? _Really.”_

 

“What? It’s an honest question!”

 

“Maybe Earth is running out of ice,” Hunk provided. “Like, with climate change and stuff.”

 

It was Lance’s turn to speak up, and Keith rolled his eyes as he heard what it was the boy had to say.

 

“Are we collecting space ice for polar bears?! Because I _one hundred_ percent approve.” He leaned back in his chair so that only two pegs were touching the floor. “Lancey Lance, saving the Arctic with the sheer power of _cool._ ”

 

Allura actually laughed at that, shaking her head slightly and causing several loose strands to fall down over her face. Keith glanced over at his brother, saw the look of absolute adoration on his face, and bit back a grin.

 

_Oh god you’re hopeless._

 

“No, Lance,” Allura said after a moment, and then she was back in her dungeon master mode. “The mission is for scientific research, to see if microorganisms could have been preserved in the ice during a super-cooling event said to have happened nearly ten thousand years in the past, but beyond that, the Garrison has kept the logistics to themselves.” Allura sat back, a self-satisfied smirk on her face as she cracked her knuckles. “Now, time to see who gets to go on the Kerberos mission.”

 

“Wait-”

 

“Hold on-”

 

“Am I missing something or…”

 

“We don’t have our characters yet!”

 

Everyone had seemingly spoken at once, with only Shiro and Keith having remained silent as Allura finished. Keith glanced over at Lance, who was once again busily searching over his character sheet.

 

“Allura,” the boy heaved, steepling his hands and pointing them in her direction, “big fan so far, totally digging it. Like space ice? Yes. Sign me up. But…” he paused here, taking a deep breath before spewing his next words. “We don’t have backstories yet! What about the characters! What about the races! I _need_ to _know!”_

 

“You will, geesh,” Allura reassured them all with a huff. “I told you guys I was doing this differently yeah? Everything is all organized.”

 

There was a shuffling of papers and a minute of silence, and then Allura was frowning.

 

“You forgot something, didn’t you,” Lance snarked, and Allura didn’t even bother glancing in his direction as she hissed out a quick _“shutup.”_

 

“Our great and wonderful DM everybody,” Matt announced loudly, and Allura sent an unenthused glare his way.

 

“Gah, enough with the theatrics Holt,” she scolded, taking out a new sheet and turning to all of them once again. “I’m just excited to start this, and I have yet to transfer everything over to my laptop, so just...gimme a minute....Alright, uh,” she gestured to the table. “Everybody roll a D20.”

 

_A...huh?_

 

Keith watched as everyone, save himself, Shiro, and Allura, took out a peculiar looking die. They came in a variety of different colours, and Keith watched in confusion as each of his friends began rolling, calling out their results and facing Allura.

 

“Um...Lance,” Keith whispered, leaning his way since Pidge was busy trying to untie a small pouch. “What are we doing?”

 

Lance blinked, staring down at his own set of dice, and then stood abruptly.

 

“Oh! I forgot! One sec.” He ran off down the hallway before Keith could ask what he meant, and Allura and Shiro watched him go.

 

“He’s as bad as you Allura,” Matt mumbled, and received a hearty swat to the arm in reply. She turned to Shiro.

 

“You can borrow my dice for now.”

 

“Oh..alright,” Shiro answered, holding out his hand as Allura dropped her own pink pearlescent twenty-sided dice into it. Shiro took a moment to appreciate how pretty it was, before tossing it up in the air and catching it again. “So I just roll it?”

 

Allura nodded, and Shiro did as instructed. Before he could announce the result however, Lance returned.

 

“Here, you can have these,” he leaned over Keith’s shoulder, handing him a small wooden box and patting his arm once before returning to his seat. Keith had frozen under the physical contact for reasons unknown, and forced air into his lungs as Lance rolled his own blue dice.

 

_That was too close!_

 

But at the same time... _not close enough._

 

Keith shook the thoughts from his mind, forcing his eyes down to the item Lance had given him, instead of on the way Lance’s fingers now curled around the various blue cubes and other shaped dice in front of him, wondering at their deftness.

 

_Get your head outta the gutter._

 

The item Lance had given him was long and narrow, and resembled an ornate harmonica case. Actually, the longer Keith looked at it, turning it over in his hands a few times, the more he was convinced that that was really what it was.

 

“Dude,” Lance’s voice startled him out of his observations, and Keith risked a glance upwards at his face. Lance was watching him with a lopsided smirk, and his eyes flickered down to the box. “You have to open it.”

 

“I _know_ that,” Keith shot back, feeling heat creep into his cheeks at having been watched. “I was just admiring the case. You play harmonica?”

 

Lance shrugged.

 

“It was my Abuelo’s.”

 

Keith perked up at that.

 

“So wait, you didn’t answer my question,” he shook the case lightly to bring attention back to the subject at hand. “You play?”

 

_I don’t know why, but Lance playing the harmonica is just...so ridiculous?_

 

_I need to know!_

 

Maybe it was the lighting, or just his eyes playing tricks on him, but Keith could have sworn he saw the tips of Lance’s ears go red as he ducked his head.

 

“Just open it, you noodle.”

 

_Avoiding the subject eh? I’m onto you McClain._

 

But Keith did as he was told, and flipped open the lid of the beautifully ordained box. Inside was not a harmonica, much to Keith’s disappointment, but instead seven translucent red dice of varying shapes.

 

“Um…”

 

“My old dice,” Lance supplied, seeing Keith’s eyebrow rise curiously. “You can keep them.”

 

“Oh right,” Keith drawled, taking one out to admire. “These are the unlucky ones.” He grinned, and _yup, I swear that’s a flush creeping up his neck._ “How kind of you.”

 

Lance rolled his eyes, playfully nudging Keith’s arm in the process.

 

“Just roll the D20 so we can get on with it!”

 

_Hmm...alright then._

 

He took the twenty-sided dice out from the box, turning it over between his fingers a few times as he watched the light catch the colour and toss red shadows across the table. It was, by all rights, a lovely looking dice.

 

Keith was only used to seeing the boring white ones. Who knew he had been missing out on such neat variations!

 

When it became apparent that everyone else at the table was waiting, and thus _watching_ him, Keith let the dice fall to the table, where it rolled a few times before coming to a halt near Pidge’s hand.

 

“A seventeen,” she announced, and Keith reached over to grab it back, ignoring Lance’s small scoff of bewilderment beside him.

 

“What does that mean?” he asked, and once again Allura was leaning forward, sheet in hand, with a wide beam decorating her face.

 

“Well, young one,” Allura said in a voice not at all her own, sounding like an aging professor about to dig into the wonders of arithmetic. Matt opened his mouth to comment, but she cut him off before any words could get out. “Nope, zip-it. You’re gonna have to get used to my character voices sir. Now,” she turned to Shiro, who was sitting closest to her, and read the number he had rolled out loud. “Seven. Cool, so that makes you…” she hummed to herself as her eyes roamed over the sheet in front of her. “What was your class again?”

 

Shiro blinked, mouth opening and closing a few times, and Keith suppressed a snicker. It was clear he had no idea to what Allura was referring to, and Hunk leaned over to help.

 

“He’s a paladin. An _actual_ paladin, not the ones you mentioned before.”

 

“Perfect,” Allura murmured, then, louder for the rest of them to hear: “Shiro is thus a human paladin.”

 

Silence around the table, and then Pidge was raising her hand.

 

“Um...isn’t that...like...normal?”

 

Allura huffed out a short breath, clearly annoyed that no one else was enamored with her system.

 

“That was the boring one! Someone else go.”

 

“I rolled a three,” Hunk offered, and Allura’s eyes immediately lit up.

 

“Yes! Awesome! This is so you,” she mused. “Hunk, you are going to be playing as a Balmeran.”

 

“Uh-”

 

“Lemme explain first,” Allura cut him off, and Hunk hastily sealed his lips. “I’ve made up some race classes. Aliens. I wanted to get away from the standard elf, dwarf, human motifs and try my own thing.”

 

Matt raised his hand this time.

 

“You made Shiro a human though. Your system is flawed.”

 

“I swear to God Matt I’m gonna make your character suffer so much-” Allura mumbled under her breath, and he snickered in victory at having riled her up. “I had to add in some human classes just to keep things real. Like, the campaign starts off on Earth-”

 

“SPOILERS!” Lance interrupted, throwing his hands over his ears and effectively drowning out Allura.

 

“Guys, let her finish,” Shiro, ever the voice of reason, interjected, and Allura shot him a grateful smile.

 

“Thank you,” she said to him, then turned back to Hunk. “Balmerans are sort of like rock people, only cooler. They have a connection with the planet they come from, like...a bond of sorts.”

 

“Like in Avatar?” Hunk asked, and Allura frowned.

 

“Which avatar? Blue people Avatar or master-of-all-elements avatar?”

 

“Allura please,” Lance interjected. “The only movie worthy of being acknowledged as ‘Avatar’ is the blue people one.”

 

“Hey,” Matt scoffed, folding his arms over his chest. “You have a problem with Aang?”

 

“What? No!” Lance said in defense. “I freaking _love_ Aang! And Sokka is my boy! But they poisoned the franchise by trying to make the cartoon into a live-action movie. That thing was utter garbage!”

 

“True dat,” Hunk supplied. “I’ve never been more offended by a movie, especially since it was based on an animated series already. We don’t even speak its name.”

 

Keith, who had no real idea as to what anyone was talking about, leaned back in his chair, deciding to take the risk and ask.

 

“What’s so wrong with the movie?”

 

Everyone turned to gape at him, which had Keith ducking down in his seat as Lance did the honours of explaining.

 

“Keith, buddy, my dude...please tell me you don’t actually _like_ the live-action remake of Avatar: the Last Airbender?”

 

“It was ok,” he shrugged. In all honesty, it hadn’t been so bad...but then again, Keith hadn’t been aware that it was based off something that previously existed. He had no clue prior to this conversation that the original had been a cartoon.

 

_Why are all my friends such nerds._

 

His answer was not well received.

 

“I don’t think I can be around this-this _disgrace_ any longer,” Matt whined, edging his chair away from where Keith was sitting. “Pidge I thought we told you to culture him properly!”

 

The girl scoffed, turning to her brother with a frown.

 

“I did! _Am._ It’s a work in progress-”

 

“Hey!” Keith tried, but Pidge went on relentlessly.

 

“-but I was _very_ much under the impression that he had seen the Last Airbender! Everyone has seen it! And _everyone_ who’s a fan of the series _knows_ that the live-action movie is a curse on humanity.” She sent her gaze down towards Keith, raising her hands questioningly. “You’re telling me you _like_ the movie? It hardly did the characters justice!”

 

Keith, who had been dipping so low in his chair that his head was now just barely at table level, spoke up in a small voice.

 

“I...I’ve not seen the cartoon. I only watched the movie-”

 

Another collection of gasps, and Keith wondered if this would become a regular thing, with the group consistently appalled by his lack of mutual experiences.

 

“ _What?!_ ” Hunk shrieked, and beside him Lance threw a hand over his heart.

 

“That’s it. We are _so_ watching it together. No excuses.”

 

_Um...what?_

 

“I don’t have time-”

 

“Nope!” Lance spoke over him, covering his ears dramatically. “Not hearing it! We need to get you properly educated on the _real_ avatar. It’s for your own good, trust me. You’ll be a better person because of it.”

 

Keith didn’t have it in him to argue. As fun as it sounded hanging out with his friends watching cartoons all day, Keith didn’t think he could spare the time. Plus all these guys were in school. The fact that they had room in their schedules to fit in a session of D&D was impressive enough.

 

But Keith simply nodded, not wanting to start an argument, and Lance relaxed back in his seat.

 

_He’ll forget anyways._

 

“So…” Allura droned boredly, “may I continue?”

 

Hunk nodded, and they refocused on the game.

 

“Right so,” she picked up her pencil, scribbling something down. “Hunk the Balmeran cleric. Cool. Ok, who’s next?”

 

“Wait,” Hunk interrupted before anyone could speak. “What does a Balmeran look like? You mentioned rocks and stuff but like...how tall am I? Do I have any wings or extra set of arms or…?”

 

Allura rifled through her pile of papers again, handing Hunk a sheet which he took with raised brows.

 

“I’ll draw up some character references after everyone is picked and we meet again. For now you can use these guides I made up for stats and special attributes, ok?”

 

Hunk grinned, nodding as he read over the paper.

 

“I got a ten,” Pidge piped up, bringing the focus back to the game, and again Allura’s face brightened.

 

“Olkari it is! You’re a technology based race, specifically with engineering and magical instruments.”

 

“Awesome!” Pidge cheered, taking the sheet Allura handed her. “Aw wicked! I can manipulate plant-based biological materials! That’s so cool!”

 

“Me next,” Matt tittered, and Allura turned to him expectantly. “I rolled a one.”

 

“Crit fail,” Lance muttered with a huffed laugh, and Matt stuck his tongue out at him.

 

Keith, as he was coming to realize would be a regular occurrence, was confused as all hell, but didn’t stop the flow of the game to ask more terminology definitions.

 

Allura startled them all by breaking out in a loud laugh, which had Matt’s mouth opening in shock as his head whipped around to face her again.

 

Well, shock or fear...maybe a bit of both.

 

“Oh this is perfect,” Allura mumbled, and then breathed deeply to calm herself before going on. “Matt you’ll be playing as a Taujeerian.”

 

There was a pause, as if Matt was too afraid to even ask, but he did nonetheless.

 

“Which is?”

 

“Basically you’re a large, grub-like humanoid with four arms and a pale greenish-skinned body, like snot. Sort of like a sumo wrestler but nasty.”

 

Matt was blinking slowly, clearly unimpressed, while everyone else broke out in laughter. It was hard not to, especially with such vivid imagery, and Matt’s face was not helping matters.

 

“Can I roll again?” he asked, and Allura folded her arms over her torso.

 

“Nope.”

 

“What! C’mon! You’re being a meany!” he whined, and she rolled her eyes as she leaned forward.

 

“What’ll you give me?” she asked, and he answered immediately.

 

“I’ll buy you something sparkly,” he offered, but Allura shook her head. “How about I give you this bag of chips?”

 

“I don’t think so.”

 

“He could be your servant for the rest of the night,” Pidge chimed in, and Matt shot her a glare.

 

“No, no no-”

 

“Sure,” Allura agreed, shooting a wink at Pidge as Matt’s face fell. “Get me a glass of water and I’ll let you re-roll.”

 

Matt looked ready to argue, but stood with a huff of annoyance.

 

“That’s it?” he asked upon returning, and she shrugged.

 

“For now.”

 

Matt narrowed his eyes as he sat back down, but wasted no time in rolling his dice again.

 

“Five this time,” he stated, and Allura hummed as she went through her pages.

 

“Okay, this one is a Canian,” she handed him the sheet, which he took with a skeptical once over. “It’s much cooler trust me.”

 

“It says here I look like a big dog-like person,” Matt said monotonously. “Did you make a fucking furry as a character option-”

 

“I was running out of ideas!” Allura cut him off, her cheeks darkening as Hunk and Pidge stifled snickers and Lance clapped his hands in joy. “Now shush or be the human booger.”

 

“He already is,” Pidge jested, and Matt ruffled her hair as she giggled.

 

“Fine. But only because I’m not ashamed of Allura’s life choices. If she wants furries in her game then I won’t deny her her dream.”

 

“Oh piss off,” Allura tossed another cheeto, but Matt dodged and it landed on the floor behind them all.

 

“ _Dude!_ ” Lance scolded, and Keith bent to pick up the discarded chip, only because he was closest. Not because he was doing Lance a favour of anything. Still, the boy acknowledged his efforts.

 

“Thanks man. Nice to know _someone_ cares about my clean floors. Keith is the only one I’ll be inviting back if you barbarians don’t behave.” He turned to Allura then, which was a blessing since Keith’s cheeks were _definitely_ a shade darker than his normal skin tone.

 

_Stop it stupid body. Focus._

 

“My turn,” Lance went on, oblivious to Keith’s suffering. “I rolled a nat twenty baby! Gimme that sweet sweet alien juice.”

 

Allura made a face of utter disgust, but did as requested.

 

“You’re an Altean then. Which is...actually pretty accurate, especially if you’ll be a bard. Though...a wizard would be better…”

 

“Hey, I’m a wizard,” Matt piped up. “Make me the Altean.”

 

“Nope. You had your two chances already. Also fetch me those Ruffles over there,” she pointed, and Matt groaned as he did her bidding.

 

“Cool so what are my special powers,” Lance asked, leaning over the table to reach for the paper Allura was passing. “Like, talk to animals...shapeshifting-”

 

“Yeah, sort of actually,” Allura cut him off, and Lance’s brows shot up on his head. “You have a chameleon ability that lets you take the form of other races, but only for a select time period, and only once per long rest.”

 

Lance let out a low whistle, ogling his sheet as Allura finally faced Keith.

 

“And you?”

 

“Uh, I got a seventeen,” he answered, and was anxious to see her brows raise on her forehead.

 

“Oh, how interesting,” she hummed and Keith waited for her to go on. “You’ll be playing as a half-breed. A Hybrid.”

 

“Is that a bad thing?” he asked, noting the way Allura was now frowning down at her notes. She glanced up at him with a warm smile.

 

“No! Not at all! Just makes the game more interesting,” she said, handing down the sheet to Keith. When it was passed to Lance he held onto it, scanning over the words as Keith waited with his hand extended.

 

“Woah cool,” he commented. “But it only says you're part human. What’s his other half?”

 

“I won’t reveal that yet,” Allura replied, earning her the curious gazes of everyone in the room. “It’ll be more fun! Just wait.”

 

“ _Fiiinnee_ ,” Lance drawled. “But I was hoping to see what kind of alien Keith got. Now he’s just a boring human.”

 

“Just like in real life,” Pidge added with a glint in her eyes, and Keith pouted in his seat.

 

_That...sort of hurt my feelings._

 

_Rude Pidge._

 

“I’m not boring, I’m thrilling. I’m like Lucky Charms to your Raisin Bran,” he shot back, and Pidge rolled her eyes as Lance huffed out a small chuckle that had Keith's cheeks warming unexpectedly. 

 

“Are we good to go then?” Hunk asked, preventing further disruption and sparing Keith anymore awkwardness. Everyone nodded, and Lance handed over Keith’s sheet. He scanned it briefly, too distracted by the effect Lance seemingly had on him to really pay it much mind.

 

_All he did was sort of laugh. Calm yoself._

 

“Oh, are we doing character names by the way?” Matt questioned suddenly, to which Allura replied with an immediate “no.”

 

“Ah, why not?” Lance joined in, “I had the best one already picked out!”

 

Allura grunted in irritation.

 

“Because I know this group of people too well. You’ll come up with the most outlandish titles and I’ll struggle to remember them the entire game. It’ll be easier for everyone to just use our own names.”

 

Lance harrumphed, and Matt joined him.

 

“How about we earn nicknames then?” Hunk compromised, and Keith wondered if he too had had a name already chosen for his character. Pidge was nodding in agreement.

 

“Yeah! C’mon Allura, don’t deny us the hilarity of made-up names!”

 

“Fine then,” Allura relented, and the table celebrated their small victory. “But I’m making you roll for them when the time comes to see what sticks. Fair?”

 

A chorus of ‘yeahs’ sounded out, and she inhaled deeply.

 

“Can I start now?”

 

A round of head nods this time, signalling the okay. There was a moment of absolute silence as everyone waited for Allura to begin, and just when her mouth opened to speak, a cell phone rang.

 

Well, ‘ring’ was not the best way of putting it. Instead, a voice began singing an odd little ditty, and everyone turned to face Matt as his face lit up.

 

“Is that Jake the Dog singing bacon pancakes?” Pidge began, eyes narrowing in disbelief as her brother took out his phone and held it up in the air.

 

“No just wait, it gets so much better!”

 

Keith frowned as he listened, and right when the first line of the song ended, a beat picked up, and everyone at the table groaned as Matt began dancing in his seat to the song playing out loud.

 

_Is that-_

 

“You absolute _nerd_ _!”_ Pidge hissed, covering her face with her hands as Matt sang along. “Only you would have the [New York remix](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUYSGojUuAU) of this stupid song as your ringtone.”

 

“It’s kinda amazing,” Hunk admired as the tone repeated itself, and Lance was laughing outright.

 

“Oh my god Matt I didn’t know you were a fellow Adventure Time fan!” he gawked, and Matt shot him a wink as the bass dropped once more. “We should watch it together sometime.”

 

Keith wasn’t sure why he felt a small tugging in the pit of his stomach as he watched the exchange, but it left him with an uncomfortable feeling he just couldn’t place.

 

_Why…?_

 

“Yeah totally,” Matt agreed, then stood. “I better take this. BRB!” he exited the room giving them all the peace sign, and two seconds later a door closed.

 

“Great,” Allura huffed, breaking the silence that followed. “Now that dumb song is going to be stuck in my head for the rest of the night.”

 

“It’s a good song though,” Hunk said, stretching his arms over his head. “I’ve always related to Jake best. He’s my favourite.”

 

“I hate that show,” Pidge mumbled from across the table. “Matt started watching it after getting into the aerospace program as a ‘way to de-stress’. You have _no idea_ how many times I’ve been woken up in the middle of the night by that _annoying_ theme song. And Matt has the _loudest_ fucking laughter-”

 

“Language,” Shiro cut her off, and she turned her scowl to him.

 

“Oh right. I forgot you liked that show just as much as Matt. I have video recordings of you trying to mimic Lumpy Space Princess.”

 

“What!” Keith gasped, nearly falling over in his seat as he reached for Pidge. “Please, you _need_ to show me those _right now_!”

 

Because, though Keith wasn’t an avid watcher of the show, he had been around Shiro and Matt long enough to know they were fans. Meaning he had a pretty good idea of who the characters were, and the floating purple sass cloud was definitely Shiro’s favourite.

 

And speaking of Shiro, the guy was practically glowing red as he hid his face, seeing Allura grin over at him after hearing Pidge’s confession.

 

“I would _also_ like to see those,” she said, but before Pidge could take out her phone, Matt returned.

 

“Guys,” he started slowly, eyes wide and unfocused. His smile grew as he stared at them all, gaze landing on Shiro last. “I got in.”

 

No one spoke for a solid ten seconds, and then all at once Shiro and Pidge were jumping up, cheering loudly and running over to give Matt a hug.

 

“No way,” Shiro was saying. “For real?”

 

“I knew you would!” Pidge celebrated, and Hunk and Lance shared a confused look as Allura simply smiled.

 

Keith was bewildered for a few minutes as he watched the exchange, and when Shiro and Pidge finally broke away, Matt explained.

 

“Yes I’m sure, you ass! That was the head of the association just now!”

 

“Uh, what happened?” Lance asked, and Pidge did the honours of explaining while Matt went about picking up his things.

 

“He got into the engineering division of the space program! It’s the next step to becoming part of the official NASA crew, and Matt was just given a place on the graduate team!”

 

“Holy crap,” Hunk murmured under his breath at the same time that Lance proclaimed: “That’s amazing dude!”

 

“I _know_!” Matt called back from somewhere in Lance’s living room, and then he reappeared in the doorway, coat in hand and grin still in place. “I’m freaking out a bit!”

 

“Woah, are you leaving?” Keith asked, eyeing the keys in his hand.

 

“I have to,” Matt explained. “The first meeting is tomorrow morning and I have to get all my shit together and tell mom and dad and-” he broke off with a look of absolute wonder. “I think I’m going into shock.”

 

“You need me to drive you back?” Shiro offered, but Matt waved him off.

 

“Nah I’m good. Pidge,” he turned to her, “you ok to get a ride later? Or do you want to come with me now..?”

 

She made a face, and he laughed.

 

“Yeah, figured.”

 

“I can drive her home,” Shiro said, and she gave him a thumbs up as Matt nodded.

 

“Cool, thanks man. I’m so excited!” He waved then, and they all responded in kind. “See you guys later!” he called out as he left. “I’m gonna be an ASTRONAUT!” they heard him yell as he headed towards the front door, and everyone chuckled as he whooped loudly once out in the hallway.

 

“What a dork,” Pidge muttered, but she was grinning, and Keith knew she was proud of her brother. Hell, _he_ was proud of Matt! The guy had been waiting for a call like this for months now, and after Shiro was given a spot on the piloting branch of the program, Matt had been growing anxious as he watched his friend progress further without him.

 

“I’m so thrilled for him,” Hunk said, and Lance stood to wander into the kitchen.

 

“Same! But it sucks that he’d gonna miss D&D now. Should we reschedule-” he broke off as his phone dinged. Actually, everyone’s phone went off, and when Keith checked his, he saw the familiar green light signifying a Facebook message. He opened it, seeing a new text from Matt sent to their group chat.

 

 **“Help I’m stuck in the closet”:** Also don’t pause the game for me! Idk when I’ll be able to play so just go on and i’ll join later or smth

 **“Help I’m stuck in the closet”:**  [sent a gif](https://giphy.com/gifs/space-astronaut-cEYFeE4wJ6jdDVBiiIM)

 **“Help I’m stuck in the closet”:** me ^

 

Pidge snickered, and then her fingers were hastily typing out a response.

 

 **I wear my cool brothers clothing:** lol more like this

 **I wear my cool brothers clothing:**  [sent a gif](https://giphy.com/gifs/fail-fun-astronaut-hZ8bSIUwA5KxO)

 

Keith snorted loudly, the sound escaping his lips before he had time to muffle it, and Lance shot him a look that was a mix of shock and amusement.

 

“What was _that_?” he quipped, and Keith flipped him off in embarrassment, earning a disapproving frown from Shiro.

 

Lance was grinning though, which made Keith’s stomach flip unexpectedly as the boy returned with a handful of glasses and a jug of water, which he set down in Matt’s now vacant spot.

 

“You guys want some?” he asked, and Hunk helped himself while Pidge and Allura shook their heads. Shiro also declined, holding up a can of pop. Lance’s eyes flickered his way. “Keith? You thirsty?”

 

 _Apparently yes,_ Keith thought as his ears burned for no reason at all. _But not for water…_

 

He didn’t say that though, instead shoving the thought away in horror and nodding quickly.

 

“Please.”

 

“Here you go little piggy,” Lance teased as he handed him a cup, and Keith nearly downed the whole thing in one go to keep from combusting.

 

_I should be more offended by that…_

 

_Why am I not more offended by that?!_

 

He got Pidge to refill his glass as Lance sat back down at his side, and Allura looked around at them all after scratching several things out on the paper in front of her.

 

“Alright,” she mumbled to herself. “This will mess some things up since I had prepared this for six players, but I should be able to twist the campaign to accommodate Matt’s abrupt leaving.” She rolled her eyes with a friendly huff. “Leave it to that boy to disrupt my game before it’s even begun.”

 

“Yeah, but like, aerospace engineering is the dream,” Hunk said, and Pidge nodded. “I’ll have to call him after that meeting and ask how it went. Get some pointers for when I apply myself in a few years.”

 

“You’re interested in that program?” Shiro asked, and Hunk nodded proudly.

 

“Though not really for space travel. I’d be happy enough just to work on designing the crafts and satellites and stuff.”

 

“Dude,” Lance chimed in. “Space travel is the _best part_ ! Like, the _only reason_ to apply at all!”

 

Hunk shrugged, and Keith wondered if Lance was planning on taking the same path as Shiro: becoming an astronaut and all that jazz. He had never really asked what any of their plans were in terms of careers, save for Pidge, but even she was unknowing at this point in her life.

 

But hearing them all express their future goals and plans made Keith feel hollow inside, as if he was missing out on something.

 

And he _was_ , really. Dropping out of the Garrison had been a thoroughly thought out decision, and Shiro had supported him in the end. Keith just hadn’t been content with the way things had been going, and university wasn’t working for him the same way it was for his friends.

 

He _was_ happier now, doing the things he wanted on his own schedule, but there were times when Keith regretted his choice to leave.

 

_Maybe if I had stuck with it things would have gotten better…_

 

He inhaled deeply, forcing the thoughts from his head. He had been down that path before, wondering ‘what if’, and it had taken him nowhere. Keith was confident he had made the right decision for himself, and he just had to remind himself of that occasionally.

 

_Besides, I can always go back if I want. Shiro said there was no rush._

 

_In the meantime I can work on my art and just relax for a bit._

 

“I am happy for him,” Allura was saying, and Keith zoned back into the current conversation. “But just bear with me as I go. It’ll be a game of ‘avoid the plothole’ now that Matt is missing.”

 

“You’ll do great,” Shiro reassured her, and beside him Hunk and Lance shared a look.

 

 _Woah hey,_ Keith thought as he witnessed the exchange. _I guess I’m not the only one to notice the pining._

 

Some part of him wanted to be included in the knowing looks though, especially with Lance, but sadly neither boy turned his way.

 

_They probably don’t think I know...or else don’t want to to include the brother of the guy they’re teasing._

 

_Maybe I should try and include myself-_

 

“Are we ready to go then?” Pidge urged, cutting off his thoughts, and Allura nodded.

 

“I’ll open with some backstory, if that’s cool,” she suggested, and everyone fell silent and waited. Allura cleared her throat loudly before going on.

 

“As I said before, Earth has developed the technology to send humans far into space, and Shiro,” she turned to him, “you’ve been selected to go on the mission to Kerberos, and spend months preparing, going over the plans until you can recite them in your sleep. When the time comes to leave, you’re given an opportunity to say goodbye to relatives and close friends. Who do you want to be there with you when you leave Earth,” she asked, momentarily breaking out of her storyteller voice, “if anyone at all? You can use this as an opportunity to give your character a backstory or...a relationship to another character if you want. It’s up to you.”

 

Shiro considered for a moment, then smiled down the table at Keith.

 

“I say goodbye to my brother, and tell him to stay out of trouble while I’m away.”

 

“Wait, what?” Keith sat up, one eyebrow raised in confusion as he stared back at his sibling. “You don’t have to make us related in this you know. You can pick anyone-”

 

“I want my little bro there with me when I take off,” Shiro interrupted. “In the game, and...in real life too.”

 

Keith felt his mouth open in protest, but closed it as he realized what Shiro was referring to.

 

_Oh right...Shiro is training to become an astronaut._

 

_Which means him leaving Earth and saying goodbye could be a very real thing one day…_

 

He was hit with a sudden, intense emptiness at the idea of his brother floating around in space, and leaned back in his chair as he stared Shiro down, willing himself not to cry.

 

“Hold up,” Pidge interjected. “I thought Keith was an alien though? How can he be on Earth with Shiro?”

 

“This is actually perfect,” Allura explained, shuffling some papers behind the screen she had set up. “Keith is part human, and part alien, but he doesn’t know _which_ alien yet. It can be part of his backstory to figure that out, if he wants. So it works if he’s on Earth. Really well in fact. I’m a bit floored by how perfect this could be...”

 

“Does that mean aliens have been to the planet before?” Pidge asked again, ignoring the elation rolling off their DM in waves. Allura shrugged after a moment, but the gleam in her eyes betrayed the nonchalant gesture.

 

“It could. You’ll just have to wait and see.”

 

Shiro took the resounding silence as invitation to continue.

 

“Anyway, I pull Keith aside, away from the commotion of the gathering crowd, since I’m assuming this is a major event and will be televised.”

 

“It will be, yeah,” Allura confirmed.

 

“And when we’re far enough away from the noise, I tell him that he can use my car, if he promises to be careful with it-”

 

“I will,” Keith heard himself whisper, but no one else did.

 

“I let him know that I’ll be back,” Shiro went on, voice taking a softer tone, “and reassure him that space isn’t as scary as I know he’s picturing it to be. I say ‘Keith, just remember that every time you look up at the night sky, I’ll be there, looking down at you as well. Like that one scene in the Lion King.’”

 

Keith laughed, but it’s a sad sound; Shiro’s words making him more emotional than they should. He doesn’t look around at the others, but from the dead silence in the room, he can tell they’re all as affected.

 

“I promise him that I’ll take as many pictures as I can, and remind him to work hard down here on Earth, doing whatever makes him happiest, so that when I’m back we can share stories of our amazing adventures.” Shiro’s eyes glistened in the low lighting, but Keith didn’t call him out on it, knowing his were likely doing the same.

 

_What the fuck Shiro! This is supposed to be a fun game, not a feels trip!_

 

“And then I give him a big hug even though I know he hates them,” his brother finished with a grin, and Keith frowned.

 

“I don’t hate hugs!”

 

“Could have fooled me,” Shiro teased, and all the sentiment Keith had been feeling before faded as his brother went on. “You get this constipated look whenever someone offers-”

 

“Oh shut up and go already,” Keith retorted, and several chuckles arose from around the table. Lance was silent, oddly enough, and when Keith glanced over at him, he saw those blue eyes staring him down; curious and searching, as if hoping to find an answer to some unasked question on his face.

 

_What is he thinking I wonder?_

 

He didn’t have time to consider it further, as Allura cleared her throat and continued her plot.

 

“Wow, that was...wow,” she commented, and took a few minutes to compose herself before going on. “So you embrace and ready to leave, and Keith,” she turned to him, “you watch the ship shoot up and away from the ground, following the trail of smoke it leaves until you can't see it anymore.”

 

“Nah,” he waved her off, ruining the poetic goodbye she had been attempting. “I go home right away and put on Netflix after raiding his closet for clothes.”

 

“Gee, thanks,” Shiro huffed, and Keith internally sighed as the mood in the room lifted.

 

_Good. I don’t want them feeling sorry for me over something that may happen in the future. This is supposed to be a fun, made-up game, not a reminder of what could happen one day._

 

“Right, well,” Allura nodded with a small grin. “Shiro, you’re put into a cryosleep, where you’ll remain for a time before reaching Kerberos. You drift off with the plans rehearsed in your head, and imagine what the distant moon must look like, eager to find out. Only, something goes wrong.”

 

“Typical,” Lance muttered, but his expression was one of excitement.

 

“You awake from cryosleep, not on the surface of the moon, as you were expecting, but rather in a cell unlike any you’ve ever seen. Dark purple lighting makes it difficult to discern much of your surroundings, but you notice that your clothing has been swapped for a strange uniform, and any equipment you had traveled with, including tools and supplies, are gone. The air is stagnant and foreign, but there is no denying the poignant stench of blood. You don't know whether it's fresh or not, and a quick scan of your own body tells you that you, for the time being at least, are uninjured. What do you do?”

 

Everyone turned to Shiro, whose eyes were wide and mouth ajar as the attention was suddenly on him. He glanced around at them all, as if hoping someone would offer help.

 

“Perception check,” Lance whispered, and Shiro nodded his head as he took up Allura’s dice again.

 

“Yeah, I do that...please,” he added, and Allura nods. “Six.”

 

“Oh wait,” Hunk grabbed Shiro’s character sheet and pointed to something on the paper. “These are your abilities. Strength measures physical power, dexterity measuring agility, constitution measures endurance, intelligence for reasoning and memory, wisdom for perception and insight, and charisma measures force of personality. Lance can you show those to Keith?”

 

Keith blinked, handing over his sheet as Lance swiveled in his chair to face him. He pointed to a section on his paper with all the words Hunk had just said printed on it, and followed along with Lance’s finger as Hunk went on.

 

“Under each ability is a set of skills that you can be proficient in or crappy in, but you can train to level up anything you aren’t good at.”

 

“Yeah, like,” Lance added, “Keith is really good at acrobatics, with a plus four modifier, but not great at history. So his dexterity and strength abilities are better than his intelligence.” He broke off with a sly grin. “All muscle except where it counts,” he mocked, flicking Keith in the space between his eyes and ducking behind Hunk when Keith’s hand came up to defend himself.

 

Still, the boy was laughing, not truly frightened of Keith’s reflexive movement, and he felt his cheeks flare as he hid behind his hair.

 

“And perception falls under wisdom,” Hunk continued, sparing Keith from further teasing via Lance. “But yours isn’t all that great. Plus one, see?” he pointed, and Shiro nodded slowly in understanding. “So you rolled a six, and with your bonus you end up with a seven. Make sense?”

 

“Sort of,” Shiro mulled. “But I might need a refresher on that from time to time.”

 

Hunk beamed, sitting back in his seat fully.

 

“Yeah dude, no problem.”

 

Allura took over once more.

 

“You try to stand, and realize your feet are bound and shackled, attached by a long chain to the far wall. It’s too dark for you to see much else besides that, but you get the strangest sensation of being watched.”

 

“Creepy,” Hunk muttered, and Shiro hummed as he processed the new information.

 

“Uh...okay... So, with this game, do I just say things and you go off of that or-”

 

Pidge rested her elbow on the table, playing with her dice as she nodded.

 

“Yeah, it’s basically a story we’re telling with Allura’s help. Or a live-action RPG.”

 

“And that is?” Shiro asked, and Keith found himself listening intently to the answer, curious himself after not having asked before.

 

“Role Playing Game,” Pidge explained, and Shiro looked as if that hadn’t cleared anything up at all.

 

“Role playing…right,” he stated, and Lance snickered.

 

“Not like _that_ you sicko. Get your head outta the bedroom,” he broke off with a laugh as Shiro’s face fell, his brows lowering in a horrified frown as he realized what Lance had implied.

 

“Ew Shiro,” Pidge joined in, “we don’t wanna know about your private fantasies,” and even Keith couldn’t suppress his smile as his brother flushed crimson.

 

“I wasn’t-didn’t-” he tried, but trailed off as Allura chuckled beside him. He sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest as he pouted. “You guys are the worst.”

 

“Hey!” Hunk protested, and Shiro revised his statement.

 

“Only Hunk is my friend. The rest of you need Jesus.”

 

“I didn’t say anything!” Allura exclaimed, staring over at him in betrayal.

 

“You laughed,” he grumbled back, and she rolled her eyes with a huff.

 

“What you do in the bedroom is none of my business,” she said, and Keith didn’t think he’d ever seen Shiro’s face go so red. Lance leaned over to Hunk, and though his words were hushed, Keith could just barely make out “but it could be”, and then Hunk was swatting his arm and scoffing loudly as Lance giggled.

 

He glanced over at Keith, who tried to hide his smile before the boy noticed, but it was not to be. Lance’s eyes widened as he realized Keith had heard, and he shot him a quick wink that Keith had no idea how to interpret.

 

_Is that a hint for me to keep quiet?_

 

_Or a hint for something else..._

 

_Or maybe he just has dust in his eye Keith. Why does everything have to be dirty with you._

 

_Right._

 

He turned his attention back on Allura, who was smiling as she got back into the story.

 

“I would usually of had Matt come in here, but seeing as he’s abandoned us for way cooler work-”

 

“Meh, debatable,” Pidge drawled. "He'll be mostly doing programming and computer simulations in some stale room surrounded by grandpas."

 

“Still..."Allura shrugged. "I’ll just have to alter the story a bit on the go. Anyways, Shiro, with the feeling of eyes watching you comes the distant echo of footsteps, and you focus to try and find which direction they come from. With the darkness and the acoustics of the room however, you’re at a loss. It’s only when a harsh light emerges from the far corner that you’re able to get a bearing. You squint as the light approaches, bringing with it the figure of a someone...only, you think the shadow looks too big to be human, and the growl that emits from the beast is enough to send shivers down your spine. I need you to make a charisma save against fear.”

 

“Uh-”

 

“I’ll help, don’t worry,” Hunk advised, and after rolling the dice and applying the proper modifiers, announced the result to Allura. “Nineteen.”

 

“Oh, geez, alrighty then,” she mumbled under her breath before going on in a louder voice. “You hear the deep guttural sound emerge from the approaching shadow, but you remain unfazed. Only the barest of shivers runs down your spine, but you think it’s due to the damp chill in the air more so than the figure before you.”

 

“Badass,” Lance whispered, and Keith could really only agree. Shiro didn’t tend to get scared easily in real life either.

 

“When the light grows close enough you’re able to see the thing holding it, and you inhale sharply as you take in one softly glowing eye, yellow and narrowed, embedded in a face covered in a deep purple hair. The other eye is a wide lens, red in colour and expanding in and out as it takes in your form. Massive ears, similar to those of a bat, emerge from the side of the creatures head, which stands a good three feet taller than yours. But you stand your ground, even as the alien speaks.” Allura trailed off, coughing slightly before going on in a different voice.

 

 _“ 'You’re being summoned._ ’”

 

“Woah,” Lance cooed in awe, leaning forward as Allura rolled her eyes. “That’s super creepy dude.”

 

“Shut up Lance,” Pidge chastised, and the boy fell silent with a pout.

 

“Who is summoning me?” Shiro answered, and Allura continued.

 

“He scoffs loudly, smirking as he spits at your feet. ‘ _You know where, Champion.’”_

 

“Uh, I really don’t-”

 

_“‘Silence! Enough of your foolish games! The witch has requested I bring you to her, now shut up and back away from the bars.’”_

 

“Yikes,” Hunk mumbled to himself, and Shiro shared a panicked look with him.

 

“Ok, I uh...back away I guess. Do I have a weapon or anything in the room I can use to arm myself?”

 

Allura shakes her head no.

 

“You’re defenseless, and all you can do is edge away from the door as it slides open. You’re roughly yanked forward by the arm, and your shackles are freed from the wall, allowing you movement. Your keeper prevents you from doing anything though, and moves you towards the exit with one massive hand. You’re walking down a long hallway lit by odd purple lights when a sentry approaches.”

 

“A sentry?”

 

“Like a robot, but taller than you and holding a type of weapon that looks like a fancy nerf gun. It speaks in a monotone voice to the alien holding you.” Allura once again donned a new tone, this one robotic and nasally. “‘ _Lord Zarkon requests your presence Sendak.’”_

 

“Sendak, as you learn your keeper is called, bares his teeth at the sentry. ‘ _I’m currently preoccupied,’_  he says, but the sentry is insistent, saying they will escort you the rest of the way towards the High Priestess. You’re left in the hallway as Sendak moves down a different corridor, but he looks back in time to catch your eyes. _‘Best of luck Champion. You’ll need it after the witch is through with you.’_ He leaves, and the sentry nudges you on with the butt of its gun.”

 

Shiro hummed to himself as he absorbed the new information, reading over his character sheet once before seemingly coming to a decision.

 

“Does the sentry have any weak points I can detect?” he asked, and Allura gestured to the dice in front of him.

 

“Make a perception check.”

 

“I rolled a twelve with modifiers.”

 

“Ooo look at him learn!” Lance sang, nudging Keith’s arm as he jested. "I love hearing that dirty talk."

 

“Uh wha-” Keith spluttered, face burning bright red as Pidge whipped around to face them.

 

“ _ Wha _ _t_ did you just say?” she asked Lance, who looked about as flustered as a rooster in hen house. 

 

“ _ Nerdy! _ ” the boy corrected as he ducked his head. “I meant nerdy! Like, talk nerdy to me, like the meme, or the song or-ack you know what I meant. Nerdy. Not...yeah.”

 

Pidge looked skeptical; eyes narrowed and smirk growing as she glanced between Keith’s face and Lance’s hood, which was now pulled up over his head. But if she had any further comments on the matter she kept them private, leaving Keith to fend for himself as Lance sunk lower in his chair.

 

_Oh my god he's such a dork._

 

_Unless he actually does consider D &D jargon to be a turn-on..._

 

_Hmm..._

 

“-then I attack it.”

 

Shiro’s declaration brought Keith back to the present, and he forced himself to focus on the game instead of the embarrassed steam coming off the boy beside him, as well as the thoughts his mind had been busily concocting.

 

“Alright, so I’ll give you advantage on that because it was unexpected,” Allura said, going on to explain that Shiro could roll twice and use the higher number. Hunk helped him figure out how much damage he could deal, and in the end the sentry was knocked out with Shiro sustaining no damage. It would have been more impressive had Keith not been so distracted.

 

He just couldn’t get Lance’s words out of his head.

 

“-I take the weapon and try to find a way out,” Shiro went on, and once again Keith made himself listen.

 

_Don’t think about it._

 

_Don’t think about him._

 

_Just focus on the story._

 

“Roll for constitution,” Allura instructed, and as the dice hit the table, Hunk let out a yelp of horror.

 

“A critical fail! No!”

 

“What’s that mean? I just rolled a one...” Shiro asked with worry, glancing between Hunk and Allura as he waited for an explanation. It was Pidge who gave one.

 

“It means that you fail no matter what.”

 

“Can I use my bonuses?”

 

“Nope, not with a crit,” Hunk added. “You’re basically screwed.”

 

“Super,” Shiro mumbled to himself, earning a short chuckle from Allura before she unfolded his follies.

 

“Your attempt at finding an exit is poor, to say the least. You stumble and trip at every obstacle, causing a ruckus as you wander aimlessly around the hallways. When you run into a group of patrolling sentries you try to fire the weapon you stole, only to discover you’ve been holding it the wrong way. It shoots behind you, at a wall, and the sentries easily overpower you. You try to fight, but your efforts are in vain, and in the end you’re knocked unconscious, vision fading to darkness as purple bleeds into black.”

 

A brief silence followed her statement, broken by Shiro as he stood.

 

“Well, it’s been fun. Sorry I died so soon-”

 

“Wait!” Pidge jumped up, pulling his arm so he was forced to sit again. “You aren’t _dead_ _!_   Just knocked out.”

 

“Yeah, chill,” Lance laughed, and Keith peeked over at the sound.

 

_At least he recovered….his ears aren’t all red anymore._

 

“Oh,” Shiro droned, taking a large swig of water before gesturing for Allura to go on. “By all means then Dungeon Mistress.”

 

“Dungeon _Mistress?!_ ” Pidge squeaked, and even Allura hid a smile behind her hand as Shiro shrugged bashfully.

 

“Cute,” Lance mumbled, so quiet that Keith barely heard.

 

_Is he jealous?_

 

 _I_ _never stopped to consider if Lance might have a crush on Allura. I mean, they do know each other pretty well, and she’s nothing to ignore._

 

_He probably does..._

 

“Shiro can you roll three D20s for me? Just tell me the numbers in order of the roll,” Allura went on, and Shiro did as asked.

 

“Okay uh….five, sixteen, and thirteen?”

 

Allura took a moment to jot the results down, before lifting her head and continuing the story.

 

“When you next awake, it’s with fuzzy memories. Green lights, then purple, shining on metallic black walls that are unnaturally smooth. There’s a word, _Galra_ , and it hangs in your head like a headache you can’t shake. A name, maybe an empire. Definitely a nightmare. A woman in a cloak, ragged like her voice. Pain. Something on your arm...something _in_ your arm. And then no arm at all. At least, not the one you remember. It’s Galran, something robotic, something that isn’t yours, but it lets you survive. You think. There’s a lot of fighting, but the fighting all blurs together. It’s hard to discern fact from fiction anymore. Your wounds are too deep to recover from and yet, you do. Somehow, with some sort of substance they pump into your body. Another word floats through your head: _Voltron._ A weapon? It has to be. The Galra, the witch… they speak of it in hushed tones, thinking you can’t hear, don’t understand. But you do. Days bleed into weeks into months, but you can’t keep track. Your life is a series of experiments; a cell in the dark, a walk down a hallway, another fight, and the room the witch uses. And then something changes. Panic, a pounding heart, the sound of sentries’ footsteps rushing your way. You’re strapped into a pod and watch as metal becomes stars flying past as you’re launched into space. You watch, disorientated and exhausted and broken, until your vision fades to black.”

 

“Jesus, that was intense,” Shiro breathed out as she tapered off, and it’s a sentiment all of them share. Allura only replied with a simple head tilt as she gulped half her water.

 

“So what happens now?” Hunk urged, chin sitting in his hands as he leaned forward on the table. Keith doesn’t want to admit it, but he’s just as curious.

 

_Wow, I didn’t know the story could be so immersive. That actually gave me chills…_

 

“Now,” Allura declared as she wiped water droplets from her mouth. They all edged forward in anticipation. “Now we order a pizza. These chips just aren’t cutting it.”

 

Keith didn’t think he’d ever seen anyone react so negatively towards the mention of food.  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woops
> 
> The chapter was getting long and I didn't wanna leave you guys on no update any longer, so here ya go! The first session still has a ways to go so stayed tuned for more gameplay styled after the canon-verse of voltron! It's a little different to make things more interesting ;)

**Author's Note:**

> OOOOOO DandD AU???!?!
> 
> I think yes. 
> 
> This first part is short, and mostly an opener to the actual story (a prequel? sure), but you can guarantee this will be a long journey that follows our voltron squad in the modern day, where their canon universe takes place in the form of complex roleplaying in the form of Dungeons and dragons
> 
> Strap in guys, this should be fun.
> 
> EDIT: lemme know if the gifs work and if I should keep using them. they're a pain to put in but I think they add to the whole messenger app experience so just let me know :P


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